Amazed
by pennylane82
Summary: AU Goblet of fire. What if Viktor Krum wasn't the only celebrity to attend Hogwarts in Harry's fourth year? Rory, a Hufflepuff chaser, and the newest member of the Italian squad is the one chosen to represent Hogwarts, not Cedric.
1. She's A Rebel

_She's a Rebel_

I sit bolt up right in the mass of sweat soaked bedding, my heart pounding, and my head aching from the onslaught of external feelings and ideas that has suddenly overcome me. I stifle a scream, at the distressing thoughts that I have stumbled across, not wanting to wake the other occupants of the stark white room. The training I am undertaking to close my mind to others' thoughts doesn't seem to be working properly, as I keep receiving the same images night after night, of families torn apart by supernatural forces. I keep seeing the same things. A blonde in a nightgown pinned to the ceiling of her baby son's nursery, bleeding from the belly, fire licking around her prostrate form, her husband stumbling back, a pair of yellow eyes in a shadowy face. A cottage destroyed, flashes of green light, a redhead cradling her baby boy, a dark hooded figure.

The images are stronger than ever before, it feels almost like I am fully inside the hooded figure's head, feeling everything that he feels crossing the threshold of the small cottage. I see James Potter fall to the floor, the green light issuing from the murderer's wand lighting up the neatly painted hallway, and hear Lily's terrified screams from upstairs. The screaming didn't affect the hooded man in the normal way, the same sense of pride and righteousness he felt before entering the house is emanating from his mind as he mounts the stairs.

It doesn't feel like a dream, it felt as though it is really happening, and I dress swiftly without thinking about it. I just know that I have to try to see if I can stop this from happening. The dreams have been going on for far too long, I've had enough now. I've experienced these dreams for the last eight months, and in my mind, that's eight months too long. I am very glad of the fact that my skin runs a few degrees hotter than the majority of my peers, as I step out the front doors of the Great House into the freezing cold wind. Pulling the hood of my white cloak up to hide my face and protect it from the cold wind, I glance around, making sure that there aren't any witnesses to my disregard for the rules of the council. The council has outlawed direct interference in the matters of lower life forms, but I have never really been one for following the rules, especially when somebody's life is at stake.

I climb the high steps to the marble surrounding the large pool, and then jump, with my eyes tightly shut. I knew from my training, that the gel like substance that cushioned travellers on their journey between the worlds burns the eyes. The first time I had gone through, I had been unable to see clearly for twenty minutes afterwards and have no desire to repeat that.

Air rushes past me, my hair flying around my face with the speed of my fall, as the tangy orange smell of the gel goes straight up my nose. I revel in the familiar freedom of falling, wondering how far it actually is, and hope that I am going to end up in Godric's Hollow. The majority of my visits have led me to the correct destination, but it is a bit of a gamble every time, the location of the portal's exit shifts so often. My thoughts are interrupted as the flow of air around me starts to slow, and people's thoughts began to intrude on my consciousness again.

I land in the graveyard within sight of the Potters' house, and am very relieved to see that the hooded figure clearly hadn't visited yet. The small cottage's garden is neatly kept, and the cottage is intact, and I can hear Harry's laughter coming from the living room as James blew coloured bubbles out of the end of his wand. The three inhabitants are silhouetted against the living room window, as I move closer to the house. I am sure that my dreams are about to become flesh, as despite the fact that many of the residents are enjoying Halloween, there is a hint of trepidation in the air. It took me a moment to realise where the trepidation has come from, isolating the feeling in the midst of the excitement and merriment that gush from the other humans thronging the street, to the small boy who is backing away from a figure swathed in a dark cloak, his hood pulled up to obsure his face. I know it is the hooded figure from my dreams, shivers of fear ran through my system as I see his long fingers twirl his wand pensively for a moment and I know that he is debating whether to hurt the child or not.

I reach for my magic, in order to protect the child, regardless of the consquences, but then the hooded man decides against attacking the boy, focusing again on the Potters. He walks slowly up the narrow path, heading towards the Potter's front door. I listen hard locating the three Potters. James is in the hall, intending to hold the intruder off for long enough for his wife and son to escape from their positions in the nursery. "God I hope this works," I whisper, closing my eyes. I have found that it is easier for me to do this if I shut out all external stimulus, and I pull the shutters down in my mind blocking out the screams of the neighbours and their worried thoughts. Quickly I find the bright yellow ball of my magical energy inside myself, nudging it down my body, and out of my hands, as I have been taught.

The hooded man crosses the threshold, his self righteous amusement in the fact that James is not even carrying his wand gushing from him. I pause for a moment, before getting closer to the house, increasing the power I hold in my hands, as I can feel that whatever else he is, the intruder has immense reserves of power at his disposal. He says two words, that I don't recognise, a green flash of light darting from the tip of his wand, and I react. The light streams out of my palms, seeking the energies that exists within the Potters. A sunny yellow glow fills the house, spreading from my hands to James and then expanding to include Lily and Harry, upstairs. My protection bounces the green light back onto the intruder, leaving James stunned but unhurt, as the figure flees. I pull back the energy the instant that I hear Lily's soft but very confused voice reassuring her son. The green light fades quickly, as the yellow energy retracts, sinking back beneath my skin.

"Okay that was sort of impressive," A husky voice comments from behind me. I turn around to see that a elegantly attired redheaded girl has appeared at some point while I was concentrating on the Potters. She is flanked by a elfin brunette and a stocky man that is clearly the redheaded girl's twin. _You don't do things by halves do you?_ the girl shifts seamlessly into a silent conversation, transmitting her thoughts directly into my head.

_Who are you? Are you from the Council?_ I ask, knowing straight away that they are not wholly human. None of the humans I've observed over the last few years would have had the ability to behave like that

_No. _The amusement spills from all three, as the elfin brunette joins the conversation. _We're definitely not council members don't worry. I'm Amy, this is Alex, and that's Dawn. _

_We felt your presence as soon as you landed, Bella told us that you had gone._ The man told her. _She's a friend of ours. She's told us all about you, and what you are capable of. We have much to discuss with you, but we can't do it here. _

_Where then?_ I ask, following the three into the shadows of the trees that stand opposite the Potters' house just in time, as the small terrace is suddenly abuzz with activity. People have noticed the intruder running away, and the bright sunshine yellow gleam blasting out of the windows as James was protected. I can feel their confusion and know it is definitely best to go while we are still undetected.

_We know a place. _Alex informs me, a smile quirking his lips.


	2. Back to the start

_**Back to the start**_

**It was barely nine on Monday morning, but Teresa Mills had already been at work at the ILA for nearly two hours. She settled behind her desk outside the Commander's office on the twenty fourth floor, and started to type up the notes from the meeting between the division heads. She was well aware that something big was brewing, as she had never seen all six of the division heads converge on the London offices before, and she had been working there for nearly twenty years. **

**The lift doors opened before she had finished typing her first sentence, and a wiry brown haired man stepped out, clutching a sheaf of papers in his left hand, his other hand ruffling his hair. Teresa was half expecting him to stop and chat as usual "Hello," she smiled. **

**"Is she in?" he asked abruptly, gesturing towards the oak door bearing the nameplate **_**Bella Patterson**_**. **

**"Yes but…" she was cut off mid sentence, as he pushed open the door, entering without knocking. **

**Bella didn't look up from the operative files she was studying, "You know just because you're my dad doesn't mean you can come in without invitation." She informed him. **

**He threw a crumpled letter down on top of her files "Didya really think Aura wouldn't tell me?" His anger and fear was rising, at the sight of his polished stepdaughter. **

**Bella picked up the letter gingerly between her thumb and forefinger "This mission didn't come from this office Alex," she met his eyes for the first time, as she handed it back. "She and Anna are in charge of this one," **

**He sank down into the black leather chair, running one hand over his unshaven chin. "What do you mean?" he asked. **

**"Anna walked into a classmate's dream, and saw Cedric die." Bella informed him. "So Aura promised her that she'd transfer and they'd stop it together," **

**"Why would she promise that?" Alex was utterly bewildered "She's not ready; her abilities are still in flux." **

**"You know that she's already a lot stronger than most operatives were at seventeen. She can handle this Alex." Bella stood, crossing to where Teresa had left the tea and coffee supplies for the morning meeting, and pouring them both a cup. "I still don't understand why you haven't made her the North America division head. She's the one who has the strong bonds over there." **

**"It's still too early for anything like that. Events in America aren't supposed to kick into high gear for years." Alex clutched his cup of coffee, relaxing a little when the heat spread through his long fingers. "Besides her bonds with her charges aren't solid enough at the moment." **

**Bella laughed, setting her cup down "Oh come on Alex! If Aura was any closer to them she'd be surgically attached." She handed him a strip of photo booth shots. The first shot showed Bella's sister Catalina squashed into the booth with a petite blonde, an elfin brunette and a tall athletic brunette with a crooked smile. **

**In the second, she was sitting between a well built blonde boy and a tall willowy brunette with a lopsided smile, the three of them laughing at something off camera.**

**The third involved her sitting on the lap of a beefy hazel eyed boy, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, as he pressed a kiss to her neck just beneath her ear. While the fourth featured the two of them indulging in a passionate kiss, his fingers were disappearing beneath the hem of her top. **

**"When were these taken?" Alex asked, tapping the strip of shots. He was particularly concerned by the last two shots, as he knew what was likely to happen to the boy. **

**"Last week, before she came back to England." Bella smiled, glad to see that her sister was forming strong bonds. Part of the reason that she had come to settle in London, was to enjoy the freedom away from the council's strict rules. **

**Alex shook his head, and returned to the earlier topic "What do you mean, Anna walked into a classmate's dream?" **

**"Harry Potter had a dream about Little Hangleton. Voldemort was living in the Riddle House, aided by Pettigrew and killed the former gardener. It really freaked her out to be inside his head like that," Bella still remembered how pale and scared Dianna had looked, just describing it, and that had been nearly three days later. **

**"So what's the plan? Please tell me that they have a concrete plan?" Alexander knew that it was impossible to talk his Catalina out of anything, particularly if it involved protecting her siblings. **

**"Of course they do," Bella refilled her cup. "You should ask them yourself though. They're heading to L.A to meet up with Amy." **

**"Right," Alexander stood, turning in a small circle on the thick carpet and then disappeared from the office. **


	3. Mad about the boy

_**Mad about the boy**_

"**So what is really going on for you?" Amy Crosley stirred her second hazelnut latte, her soft brown eyes were fixed on her younger sister Catalina who sat opposite, nursing her third mint mocha. The two had come straight to Rascal's diner from the airport after their flight up from Mexico, not even stopping to drop their stuff at Amy's home in the Hollywood Hills. Rascal's wasn't exactly the classiest place, there were framed posters of former stars like Frank Sinatra, Rita Heyworth, Marilyn Monroe and Otis Redding on the wall, but apart from that it looked like any slightly dingy cafe, however it had become Amy's favourite place to come for a girly gossip, mainly because of the incredible cakes. The sisters had spent the last couple of hours chatting about Amy's promotion, her new house in Phoenix, Dianna's sudden passion for Sam Winchester, the relocation of Bella, and Catalina's successful tryout for the Italian National squad, but now with their coffees replenished as well as purchasing two slices of the most decadent triple chocolate cake Catalina had ever seen, they were ready to delve into the important stuff, their love lives. "Every time I turned around you were hanging out with Viktor, are you two a proper couple now?" the elfin brunette took a long sip of her drink but kept her gaze on her sister as she waited for the answer.**

**Catalina shifted her weight on the overstuffed red vinyl seat, as she felt her bare calves starting to stick to the material. She was wearing the red Capris that had been a birthday present from her 'second' mum and dad Amos and Jasmine Diggory, Cedric's parents. "No. Viktor's a great friend but he's not exactly boyfriend material, for me anyway."**

"**What about Cedric?" Amy asked. Catalina's cheeks flushed and she hesitated, "Oh come on Rory. It's been obvious since your thirteenth birthday that the poor boy is head over feet for you." The twenty four year old pushed a thick lock of her red streaked hair back as she spoke. **_**God knows why she keeps the boy around, I mean he's so dull. I could understand if she hooked up with Oliver or Dean, they at least have energy and passion about them, but Cedric seems too quiet and restrained for her.**_

"**I do love Cedric, and I think he is what I want in a boyfriend. He's so sweet, and steady and he really appreciates me." She sighed "I just hope that he is still interested in taking our relationship up a notch after all the nonsensical articles that Skeeter woman wrote."**

"**Still interested?" **_**But that implies that he's been interested.**_** "Has something happened between the two of you?"**

"**Um..." she mumbled, taking a bite of her cake. Catalina wasn't sure that she was ready to spill the secrets of the summer to her big sister.**

_**I can't believe how shy she is about sex. I don't think I was ever quite as innocent as that. But then again dad's not exactly the best one to turn to for sex advice. Thank god I had Sara.**_** She thought, and then glanced over at Catalina, trying to gauge by her expression whether the younger girl had heard her thoughts. Catalina had developed the ability to hear thoughts by the age of four, and had it under complete control now.**

**Catalina always tried to ignore Amy's thoughts, turning them down like the volume level on a radio, as she knew how much her elder sister hated having that particular ability used on her. "Whatever happened I'm sure it's something I've either done, or I know somebody who has done it." Amy said, she had always been sexually experimental and open minded. "Nothing you and Cedric could have got up to would really surprise me."**

"**Okay we had a very drunken night, eventually making it home at five in the morning, and um..." she rubbed her nose with her right hand, trying to think of the right way to phrase what she wanted to say. Then she took a long drink of her coffee, buying herself some more thinking time.**

"**You slept together." Amy said, smiling at her sister's nervousness. A bright red flush had spread itself over the younger girl's high cheekbones at Amy's matter of fact words, and she was glad that she had swallowed her mouthful of coffee, otherwise she would have spit it all over the Formica. "Oh come on Rory, if you're old enough to do it, then you're old enough to talk about it." She passed her a fork, only now noticing that Catalina hadn't received one when they had got their cake. "Was it good? My first time was a little quick."**

"**We didn't actually get that far," The slender blonde confessed as she lay the fork down at the side of her plate, "I was really drunk, and Cedric was even worst off. We just kissed a few times and then he passed out." She blushed "But then we tried again the night after, and that was a lot better. It didn't hurt nearly as much as it did when I slept with Richard." Richard Kingsley was a Muggle who had been Catalina's first real boyfriend.**

"**It usually does hurt when you lose your virginity, but it's like anything it gets easier with practice." Amy ate another mouthful of cake.**

"**Well by the end of the week we were pretty well practised," Catalina's fair cheeks flushed as she recalled some of the more private moments of the week she had been able to spend with Cedric.**

"**So what happened after? I mean you had to be in Mexico at pretty short notice."**

"**Yeah. I got the letter three days after my birthday and I was supposed to be on the plane that afternoon. Mr Reyes included my ticket in the envelope." Catalina cut off a chunk of her cake, popping it into her mouth. "Oh god, now I know why you love this place so much." She gasped, after she had eaten it.**

"**The pastries are fantastic aren't they? The first year I was here, I put on about a stone because the cakes were so helpful in getting over many a rough day." Amy smiled at her sister's expression. Catalina's eyes had flickered shut, and she had let out a blissful sigh as soon as the chocolate sponge hit her tongue. "I take it you're another convert to the cult of Rascal's."**

"**Oh definitely." Catalina nodded. "In fact we should order another couple of slices." Amy waved to her permatanned friend Jack Hopkins, one of the waiters, and ordered more cake for them both, and another cup of coffee.**

"**What's happened since?" Amy asked once Jack had supplied them with more coffee and cake, and disappeared back behind the counter. She was very curious, as this was the first time that she and Catalina had had a serious chat about boys. Catalina had never really seemed that bothered in dating, she had been firmly a tomboy throughout her childhood. It was only during the last few years that Amy had noticed the changes in her, changing from the awkward, gangly child into a pretty teenager.**

"**He's been very slow at replying to my letters. I think all the Rita Skeeter stuff might have hurt him." Catalina sighed, cutting herself a large forkful of cake.**

"**You don't know that he's seen any of it." Amy said, trying to reassure her. "He could just be busy spending time with... what's the name of their neighbours? The ones with ginger hair?" She had only met the Diggories three times in person, but had been to their home once four years before, when her visit to England happened to coincide with Catalina's summer holidays. She had bumped into one of the neighbour's children: a lanky boy around Catalina's age, in the village papershop.**

"**You mean the Weasleys. No I doubt it, the twins are our age but Ced doesn't really get on with them." Catalina replied, once she had swallowed properly. "Besides Amos has been a subscriber to the Prophet since we were seven. It's very unlikely Ced hasn't seen the articles, and they're all painting me and Viktor as... as..." she struggled for a couple to compare them to.**

"**The Britney and Justin of the Quidditch world?" Amy suggested smirking. Catalina laughed, throwing a screwed up paper napkin at her sister. "Well if he's not replying to your letters, why don't you go and surprise him?" she asked, wiping her mouth with another napkin to remove the chocolate from her lips.**

"**No that would really freak him out, he just needs time to sort out what he wants. I'll see him when I go to the World Cup." Catalina said, before finishing off her drink. "It should be a lot of fun, a lot of my friends from Hogwarts are going too."**

"**How did you get a ticket? Liam practically had to take out a second mortgage just to get me a ticket, and I have connections with governments all over the world." Amy asked, signalling to Jack for another top up of her coffee.**

"**Viktor gave me a ticket, at the party to celebrate the end of the tournament. He was given four for friends and family, seeing as he's part of the Bulgarian team." Catalina said, taking a sip of her own refilled coffee. "Who's Liam?" that name was unfamiliar.**

"**Oh Fitzwilliam Holmes. He's the newest recruit to my task force." Amy replied. "He only became a full operative last month, and is already fitting right in. He works mainly with Fidier and Edward, down in New Mexico."**

"**How did you find him?" Catalina was curious.**

"**I found him in Chicago. He was being attacked by a Jeinate, who was interested in absorbing his ability." Jeinates had the ability to take other's physical and mental abilities by touch, and were the one thing that every new recruit to the ILA was trained to recognise. "I was tracking it along with the local chapter and saved him."**

"**Is he cute?" She could feel the waves of pleasure and shyness coming from her sister as Amy talked about Fitzwilliam.**

"**Yeah. He's very cute, but he's a employee who's just finding his feet." Amy said "I have to set a example, seeing as I'm the head of the operation."**

"**I have to nip to the toilet, where are they?" Catalina could feel that her bladder was close to bursting from the large amount of liquid she had consumed.**

"**Oh to the right of the counter. You can't miss them." Amy told her. Catalina smiled gratefully before sliding from the booth and going in search of them. She had only been gone for a few seconds when her phone started ringing. Amy reached into her sister's linen jacket, retrieving her mobile from the left pocket. She recognised the number flashing instantly. "Hi Dad." she decided to answer it, and see where her father was. "I thought you were getting here about half a hour ago?"**

"**Yeah I know. The meeting with Bella took longer than I thought it would." Alexander replied. Amy could hear the roar of the traffic in the background. "I'm in Los Angeles now though and walking up to Rascal's."**

"**You didn't fancy renting a convertible then?" Amy smiled, remembering one of her father's oft stated dreams, of driving down the Californian freeways in a convertible.**

"**Nah. That's for when I have more time." Alexander replied. "Where's Rory?"**

"**She's nipped to the toilet, we've drunk nearly our body weight in coffee this morning."**

"**What have you been talking about?" He was a little nervous that Catalina might have picked something up from Melosa, as he knew that the three of them had spent a little bit of time together. Amy and Catalina had called in at the Mexico City offices, as the tournament had been held just outside the city.**

"**We've been chatting about the important stuff, boys, new friends, stuff like that." Amy told him, as Catalina came out of the toilet. The younger girl seemed to be completely oblivious to the lustful stare directed her way by a burly redhaired boy in the booth nearest the front door, but Amy clocked him. His eyes were practically falling out of his head as he watched Catalina cross the black and white lino. "Hey she's here now. It's dad," she handed the phone over.**

"**Hey dad, are you nearly here?" Catalina's question was redundant, as at that moment the little bell over the door rang, and Alexander pushed his way inside. He chatted briefly to the dark haired waitress, ordering a coffee and then crossed the small diner's lino floor to join his daughters.**

"**Hi girls." He kissed both of them on the cheek before sliding into the booth next to Catalina. "I see you weren't joking about the caffeine intake," He noted the numerous empty cups that were present on the tabletop, caffeine addiction ran in the family though, one of the many things that he had passed onto the girls. "You're practically vibrating."**

"**Oh that's just off the sugar high." Amy said dismissively, she polished off the remains of her cake and then felt slightly sick. She hadn't eaten two slices in one sitting since she was studying for her final exams in History.**

"**Okay then." He turned to face his other daughter, "I stopped off at the Diggories' place before coming to meet you. Cedric's really missed you, and he asked me to apologise for him. He's been unable to write back as often as he'd like because Amos has needed the owl a lot for business."**

**Catalina felt incredibly relieved to hear that, at least she knew that Cedric could still be considering becoming her boyfriend. "Oh is that because of the World Cup, a lot of people bringing their pets with them?" she inquired, taking another sip of her mocha.**

"**Yeah. Apparently it's been a mad few months for him." Alexander had felt sorry for his friend, after seeing the huge bags beneath his eyes. He knew that Amos wasn't really made to survive on less than eight hours. The two men had been friends at Hogwarts, and Alexander remembered many mornings of nearly getting his head bitten off at breakfast because Amos's sleep had been disturbed. "Are you coming to the World Cup with us?" He asked Amy. The brunette nodded, she was still feeling nauseous and didn't trust herself to open her mouth. "Right well why don't you two go and grab your stuff while I pay the bill?"**

**The sisters slipped out of the booth, heading out the back door of the diner. Amy's vintage car was parked around the corner in it's usual spot. "I told you that he wouldn't be angry with you. How could he be?" Amy commented as she unlocked the boot. Catalina reached in, pulling her duffel out and seizing the strap of Amy's haversack.**

"**Yeah you called it." Catalina said, "So we've throughly dissected me and Cedric, is there anyone on the horizon for you?"**

"**Nah." Amy snorted. "I'm just having fun, now that Michel's properly out of my life."**

"**You don't want to see him at all?" Catalina asked tentatively, her former brother in law was a sensitive topic, and she was still unsure what had exactly happened there. Amy enjoyed listening to others' problems and dispensing advice but wasn't interested in letting others advise her, and it was usually better to leave it alone until she asked for help.**

"**No honey, I'm looking for a handsome bloke, with a sense of humour, a passionate nature and a drive to succeed. So pretty much Michel's total opposite."**

"**Okay the bill's paid. Let's go!" Alexander said from behind them.**

**Amy placed her sunglasses in a resting place on top of her head, and looked at them quizzically. "Oh no we're not apparating are we?"**

"**Yeah. It's a lot quicker, and Amos is already expecting us." Alexander reached out, taking both of his daughters by the hand, and turned on the spot. All three vanished from the sun drenched stretch of concrete.**


	4. Home

_**Home**_

**Amy felt even sicker when they rematerialised on a gently rolling hill, despite the warmth of the mid afternoon sunlight, and the cool breeze that swirled around her. "That's definitely not a good idea after two slices of cake and about six coffees." She could feel the chunks rising in her throat, and was more than a little annoyed that Catalina didn't seem to be bothered. The younger girl looked excited about the prospect at being back in England, and her attention was directed to the next hill. "How come you're not on the verge of vomit? You had more coffee than me." Her father was rubbing her back in rhythmic circles, as she bent over, bracing her hands on her knees as she fought against the urge to throw up.**

"**I've had more than that in my stomach before apparation before." Catalina replied, as she held out a small bottle of water that she had dug out of her bag. Amy drank deeply from the bottle, willing her stomach to stop rolling, and watched as her sister set off at a brisk pace to the large old farmhouse that sat on the top of the next hill.**

"**Whose house is that?" Amy asked her father in a low tone.**

"**It's Amos's place. I thought you'd been here before," he took the bottle of water from her, taking a swig himself and then sticking it into his bag.**

"**Only for about a hour, nearly five years ago. I just picked Rory up to take her to the station." Amy replied.**

"**Hurry up!" Catalina called back, she was nearly two hundred metres ahead of them, her eagerness to see Cedric and his family again making her pace quite brisk. The other two quickened their own pace, and caught her up at the neatly cut hedge. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked, "Amos does it all himself." Amy had to admit that the garden was beautiful, it was a riot of colour, with red roses, white lilies, bright sunny yellow tulips, clumps of lavender, pink peonies, clematis and daffodils all competing for space. "That's new." She remarked, pointing to the yellow roses that grew up over the trellis standing at the side of the door.**

"**They were Ced's idea. He said something about them being his favourite flower." Mr Diggory's deep gravelly voice came from behind them. He had been returning from the village shop with the milk and eggs, when he spotted the motionless DiVitas. He hadn't expected them to come so soon, after Alexander's brief visit, but was very pleased to see Catalina. He was hoping that she might actually get his son out of the fit of the sullens that had consumed Cedric since she left.**

"**Hi Amos." Catalina hugged the older man. She had missed him and his wife almost much as she had missed Cedric. "Where's Jasmine?"**

"**She's in her studio, working on another masterpiece." He led the way into the kitchen, and put the groceries away as the other two seated themselves at the battered oak table. Catalina made some coffee for herself, her father and Amos, one look at Amy's slightly green face told her that her sister wouldn't be drinking it for a while.**

"**Your wife's a painter?" Amy inquired, sipping at the water that her sister had passed to her.**

"**No she's a photographer." Amos told her.**

"**She's amazing, kind of like the Annie Leibovitz of the wizarding world." Catalina informed her sister proudly. Jasmine had been snapping photographs since Cedric was born, and she had garnered quite a lot of work. She tended to freelance, and worked for publications in the Muggle world as well.**

"**I dabble a little." Jasmine Diggory appeared at the kitchen door, her dark hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and wearing a oversized t shirt and leggings. "Amos why didn't you call me?" despite her rumpled appearance, the tall woman had a a air of no nonsense about her. She crossed the room with a quick light step, hugging Catalina warmly. "I'm glad to see you Rory. Maybe now Cedric will pick himself up. He's been quite down in the dumps this summer."**

"**Is he still asleep?" she asked, sipping at her coffee with a studied nonchalance that all the others saw straight through.**

"**Yes. Why don't you go and wake him up?" Amos suggested.**

"**Okay." She stood, feeling a little nervous all of a sudden and started towards the door, only after receiving a supportive smile from her big sister.**

"**Give him this." He handed a steaming hot cup of coffee to her, and watched smiling as she left the kitchen immediately.**

**Catalina made her way up the curved stair case, her footsteps muffled by the thick blue carpet. Her eyes drawn to the many family photographs that hung on the landing, they were all moving as was typical with wizarding photos, there were pictures of Cedric in every stage of development. She smiled, watching the one of him riding his first broom at two years old, his tiny face was alive with pleasure, and he was clearly laughing as his concerned father watched on. The photo hung on the light peach wall between her room and Cedric's. His door was adorned with a simple plaque announcing **_**Cedric's room. Keep**__**out!**_** He had affixed it when they were eight and kept forgetting to take it down. Catalina smoothed her hair with her free hand, feeling stupid about how nervous she felt. **_**Oh come on. It's only Cedric, the bloke you've known since you were five. It's not a big deal, just open the door.**_** She thought. When she pushed open the door, she saw that Cedric lay wrapped securely in a nest of blankets, all that was visible was a shock of his thick sandy blonde hair sticking up from under his duvet. She smiled, relieved that some things had clearly not changed. His light yellow walls were still plastered with images of his favourite Quidditch team, the Huckley Harriers, and photos of her and his parents sat on his bedside table. She leaned over, shaking his shoulder through his cream duvet, he grumbled something, clearly still in the grip of his dreams. "It's time to get up Ced." She said softly.**

"**What... You... When?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, trying to determine if she was really here or if it was a continuance of his dream. "Are you really... I thought you..."**

"**It's good to see some things haven't changed. You're definitely still not at your best in the mornings." She smiled, sitting down on the side of his bed, and handing him a cup of coffee. "Your dad sent this up for you. Guaranteed to get anyone going." The strong aroma hurt his nose, and he set it aside, putting it onto his bedside table.**

"**I thought you were still in America. When did you get here?" he asked, grabbing the clothes he had left on his chair before he went to sleep. He hastily dressed, not bothered about her seeing him, as they had shared a room as children, and he was far past the point of being self conscious in her presence. She was very tanned and her chestnut hair had been lightened in the sun, since he had last seen her at the end of June.**

"**I got here about three hours ago. Amy, dad and I decided to go to the World Cup instead of Lollapalooza. So we apparated here from a diner in LA." She told him. He looked her up and down, taking in the changes to her personal style. He had never seen her dressed like that before, as well as the Capris she was wearing a off white backless top that emphasised her bronzed skin. Her usually unruly mass of hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail. "I know it's not really me, but now that I'm in the public eye in this world as well as the Muggle one, it makes sense to dress a little smarter than I have in the past, or so my agent says." She plucked nervously at the hem of her top, exposing a sliver of toned belly to his gaze "Do I look stupid?" she asked, glancing up at him. She valued his opinion, and knew he would always tell her the truth as he saw it.**

"**It's different, but you could never look stupid Rory." He reached out, squeezing her hand. "Welcome home." **_**God I've missed her**_**, he thought, keeping hold of her hand, the sensation of feeling her soft and warm skin against his own sending shivers down his spine.**

"**It's good to be back." She beamed. "It was amazing in Mexico, and having Viktor there, seeing as he's been through the initial whirlwind of press interest and knows how to cope with it was great. But I missed having my boyfriend there." She confided, her eyes sparkling with love as they studied him. "You are my boyfriend right? I mean after last June..." a hint of nervousness glinted in her bright blue eyes.**

**A spike of pleasure and contentment at hearing her call him her boyfriend had started coursing through Cedric and he was on the verge of telling her what he'd wanted to tell her all summer, when his mother yelled upstairs "Cedric are you awake yet? You need to get moving!"**

"**Come on. I'm dying for another cup of your mother's coffee." She led the way out of his room. "Mr Jasper, the coach doesn't like the idea of us having caffeine, so there's none allowed in the ground. Dad, Amy and I were reduced to drinking the stuff from this dodgy little place, about five miles away and it was like drinking treacle." She complained as they entered the kitchen, to see that both of their fathers were eating their way through a plateful of sausage, bacon, beans, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and toast. Catalina was about to ask where Amy and Jasmine were, when the back door opened and the two came in, Amy was carrying a basket of strawberries, a piece of straw stuck in her hair.**

"**Maybe that's a sign that you should cut down." Cedric suggested, slipping into the seat opposite his father. He grabbed the pitcher of orange juice that sat in the middle of the oak table, poured himself a glass and took a long gulp. Amy set the basket down on the worksurface and then sat down next to her father. She took a plate from the stack at the top end of the table, and got herself some eggs, beans, sausages and toast from the large dishes that sat along the middle of the table.**

"**She wouldn't be our Rory if she did that. I don't think I've ever seen you forgo your morning cup of coffee, and you've been living here for nearly six years." Mr Diggory commented, as he put the paper aside.**

"**You can't blame the girls for their addiction," Alexander said, as he finished the last mouthful of his mushrooms. "That's all that sustains us sometimes."**

"**By now you're probably ten percent caffeine and fifty percent water." Amos smiled at her, as she poured herself a mug full of coffee, before seating herself next to Cedric. He had grabbed two plates, and was fixing a plate for both he and Catalina. He got them both a bit of everything, and then passed one over to her.**

"**You're too optimistic dad it's more like thirty percent of each. You didn't see how much she guzzled when we were studying for our OWLS." Cedric teased her. "I was half expecting her to bypass the drinking, and just have caffeine pumped directly into her veins."**

"**You drank just as much as I did, Mr Clean Living." Catalina shot back, a soft smile curving her lips. "Besides all the coffee I drank then helped me study hard enough to pass all my OWLS. So I'm not cutting down any time soon."**

"**What grades did you get?" Cedric was curious, and half hoping that he might have got better grades than her.**

"**Oh um... I er... I got ten Outstandings and two exceeds Expectations." She replied, a little sheepishly. "How did you do?"**

"**Six outstandings and three Exceeds Expectations." Cedric told her. "I bet that you came top of the year."**

"**Oh god can you imagine the ribbing George and Fred will give me if I have?" She laughed. "George's already written to me this summer, taking the mick because of all those stupid articles Rita Skeeter wrote about me and Viktor, being more than friends." She shrugged, munching on her breakfast between words.**

**Cedric felt himself relax for the first time since the articles had started appearing. He had trusted her, but a part of him didn't quite believe that somebody as vibrant as Catalina could be interested in being more than friends with him. It was that tiny bit of him, that had caused him to mope around the house, sleeping as much as he could and ignoring the owls from his friends. "Nobody who really knows you would believe it." Amy commented, as she stood up, taking her now empty plate over to the sink as well as her father's and washing them up.**

**Catalina winced mentally, as she felt the renewed confusion coming from Cedric. "Why don't you and Rory take Bartley for a walk?" Amos suggested, as he saw the confusion ghost over his son's face. He was sure that Catalina would talk some sense into his son.**

"**Okay." He grabbed his jacket, and the two of them strolled out of the back door, "Come on Bartley." He called out as they crossed the back yard. The grey and white Crup came bounding out of his kennel. Cedric attached the lead with difficulty as Bartley gambolled around their feet.**

"**So what have you been up to then Ced?" Catalina asked, as she opened the gate, letting Bartley and Cedric out first. "Paddy told me that he kept inviting you to come and stay, but you said that you were busy." Patrick Summers was one of their fellow Hufflepuffs, and one of Cedric's closest friends.**

"**When did you speak to him?" He asked. He had thought that she would have been too busy competing to answer many letters.**

"**He wrote to me during the tournament. He was curious about what you could have planned that was keeping you so busy that you couldn't even pop over for the weekend,"**

"**I just didn't fancy staying with him." He shrugged, "Hanging out with just Patrick and Jennifer? No thanks." The two had started along the wide track that led down to Ottery St Catchpole. Bartley was running ahead, the extendable lead allowing the excitable Crup to nose at various intriguing smells, while Cedric and Catalina strolled gently behind him. Ancient trees grew on either side of them, the leaves meeting and forming a thick green canopy that the sunlight struggled to penetrate. The light dappled across their faces, and the dusty lane that they were walking down.**

"**They're not that bad." Catalina defended Patrick and his girlfriend. "I think they're quite sweet actually. I mean they're definitely opposites, he's a man of few words and she never stops talking. He's a positive thinker, and she's rather pessimistic, but they work. They're clearly nuts about each other."**

"**Or they're just nuts." Cedric smirked. "They're far too different, it won't work in the long term."**

"**What about us?" She asked. "We're just as different as they are but we make a good team. You're rational, quiet, introspective and lively, and I'm..." Her bright blue eyes sparkled, as a shaft of sunlight came through a gap in the leaves, bringing out the gold strands in her hair at the same time, and Cedric couldn't resist. He leaned in, kissing her firmly, his free hand stroking through her hair, and coming to rest at the nape of her neck.**

"**You were saying?" he laughed quietly as he slowly drew back from the kiss, several long moments later. Catalina stared straight back into his eyes, her expression was a little dazed, he smoothed the rumpled strands back over her shoulder. He gently took her right hand, tugging her further along the track so that they could resume their walk.**

"**What was that?" she said, when she had finally regained her senses.**

"**That was what I meant to do when you woke me up." He confessed. "You know I'm a bit slow at taking action. I'm sorry..."**

"**No apology necessary. It's just..." She sighed. "Just keep kissing me like that and we'll be fine," She grinned at him, squeezing his hand as they emerged from the wide tree lined track onto the road. Bartley was ten feet ahead of them, sniffing at the tufts of grass around the mile marker. They walked up the grassy verge a little way so that they were completely clear of the traffic.**

"**It'll be tough but I think somehow I can manage that." His voice was filled with amusement, that was also reflected in his eyes. "I'm curious though. How were you going to describe yourself?"**

"**Oh... I don't know." She admitted. "Probably driven by my emotions, rash, chatty and passionate."**

"**I'll agree with most of that but you're not rash. You know what you want and you go after it, that's not a bad thing at all." He told her. "It's one of the things I envy you actually. I wish I could be more like that."**

"**You already are like that." She replied. "You just plan for a bit longer that's all." As they ambled down the lane, several cars passed them, heading into the heart of the village but they didn't take any notice. Bartley's tail had been clipped months before, and he now just resembled a Jack Russell terrier, and they knew that they didn't have to worry about any Muggles spotting them. They were approaching the south end of the village, and Catalina spotted the Weasley's house, it's gabled roofs and misshapen form was quite familiar to her. She had dragged Cedric there enough times, trying to aid the building of a friendship between him and the Weasley twins. She had been friends with George and Fred since the first year, and was also on good terms with the third member of their group, Lee Jordan, enjoying their pranks, and often joining in with them.**

"**So where do you want to go?" Cedric asked, as they reached the village proper. "There's Blazing Jake's just down there. We could go for a bite to eat." He checked his watch, seeing that it was nearly eight o'clock.**

"**I don't think it's the best idea to take Bartley into the village, just in case we come across a Muggle. He's still quite aggressive to them, well at least he was before I went to Mexico." So they turned on their heels and headed back the way they'd come, after pulling Bartley away from a stray drinks can he was investigating. They didn't exactly hurry on the way back, chatting mainly about the World Cup, which was happening the very next day.**

**When they arrived back at the Diggories, Cedric let Bartley off his leash inside the yard. "Do you think dinner will be over?" He smirked, as they let themselves into the darkened house.**

"**I'd think so." Catalina found the note propped up against the butter dish on the kitchen table. **_**Cedric and Rory, we've all gone to bed. It's gone ten and we're supposed to be up at two, to get to the Portkey**_**. She yawned, her jet lag finally catching up with her.**

"**Come on, we'd better get to bed ourselves." Cedric wrapped one arm around her waist as they walked upstairs to their rooms. Catalina was exhausted, all the travelling and lack of sleep had suddenly hit her like a sledgehammer, and the last thing she remembered was Cedric catching her as her knees gave way halfway upstairs.**


	5. Flying without wings

_Flying without wings  
_

It was quarter to two in the morning when Jasmine bustled into her son's room to wake him up. She was unsurprised to see that Cedric didn't wake up even when she flicked on the light. He merely rolled over, burying his face in his pillow and grumbling something incomprehensible. "Rory love, it's time." Jasmine went to the other bed, shaking Catalina's shoulder gently. She knew that it would be easier to wake Catalina and then leave her to wake the unfailingly crabby Cedric. He had never been a morning person and was almost certainly going to be worse, on so little sleep.

Catalina cracked open one eye and blinked furiously as she took in the sudden brightness, croaking hoarsely "What?" It took her a few seconds to get oriented enough to understand what was going on.

"It's time to get up." Jasmine repeated softly.

"Already?" Catalina's eyes landed on the large clock that hung opposite the bed, and she groaned when she saw the time.

"I'm afraid so." The older woman said, setting a cup of coffee on the table for her. "I'll see you both downstairs. The others are ready to go." Jasmine shut the door behind her, and she immediately turned over to try to wake Cedric. It took her nearly ten minutes to break into the deep sleep that her friend was enjoying, and then they both dressed quickly. Cedric had laid their things out neatly over the chair, which made it easier, but their sleepiness meant that Catalina grabbed his long sleeved t shirt and he was wearing the hooded sweatshirt Catalina had stolen from Dean.

"I was having a really nice dream." Cedric grumbled as they made their way, down the curved stairs to the kitchen. "It's cold." He complained as their feet hit the painted tiles in the hallway, a window must have been open, because a cold draught enveloped them both. "Why don't we go back to sleep for a bit?"

"Grumble later, keep moving now." She advised, pulling him the last few steps into the warm kitchen.

"Why do we have to be up so early again?" his question was directed at his mother who was sitting at the kitchen table. Amy sat opposite her, alongside Alexander, both were pale and sleepy but had huge mugs of coffee clutched tightly in their hands. They were gulping the coffee down like it was all that was keeping their eyes open.

"I told you. You have to get to Stoatshead Hill, to catch the portkey at about five." Jasmine replied. She was sorting through the tickets, making sure that her husband had brought the right ones down.

Amos finished the pan of eggs he was stirring at the stove, and tipped them into a large bowl. There was already stacks of toast, a bowl of mushrooms and a dish of tomatoes, and a platter of bacon and sausages sitting in the middle of the table. "Right everyone dig in." He had discarded his usual long robes, opting instead for a thick Fair Isle sweater and black corduroy pants.

"Where's Stoatshead Hill?" Alexander asked, as he reached for a piece of toast. He was also dressed warmly, instead of the t shirt and cotton pants he had worn in L.A. he was wearing a black turtleneck and jeans.

"It's a fair walk from here. Ced and I used to play up there all the time when we were younger." Catalina told him, as she grabbed a piece of toast for herself. Next to her Cedric had filled his plate with a bit of everything, and dug in with gusto. Catalina followed suit, after she had filled her plate with everything bar the tomatoes.

"Suddenly I think I might owe you quite a bit of money Amos." Alexander commented, as he watched the two teenagers eat.

"What?" Amos's confusion was shared by most of the people in the room.

"I didn't realise that your son could eat as much as Rory can. I thought I had the only bottomless pit." He smiled. The two didn't respond, they were starving as they hadn't eaten any dinner the previous day. They were intent on devouring every last scrap on their plates.

Amos glanced over at the clock, "We'd better be going, I haven't any idea what the portkey will be and we need time to find it, even with Arthur helping." Cedric finished off the last of his breakfast, wiping up a bit of egg with his toast.

"If you leave your list Rory, I'll pick up your school stuff at the same time as I pick up Cedric's," Jasmine offered. "Thanks," I dug into her duffel and found her school list in the inside pocket. I handed it over to Cedric's mother, with a grateful smile.

They all bundled up in thick down filled jackets from the Diggories' cloakroom. It was likely to be very cold in the pre dawn light, and it's best to keep up the pretence that cold affects us. Alexander was very keen on his children maintaining the human illusion, particularly while they're still at school. The teenagers shouldered their bags, and headed out of the back door, following Mr Diggory. It was freezing outside, and Catalina was instantly very grateful for the thick jacket she was wearing, as the cold wind whipped at her face and stung her hands. Amy fell into step with her as they crossed the backyard, avoiding the muddy puddles left behind by the rainfall during the night. Cedric walked with his father and Alexander, he didn't want to get into the middle of a sisterly chat. "So where is this place we're going again?"

"Stoatshead Hill," Catalina pointed to the huge black mass that was just visible on the horizon. "It's on the other side of the village."

"And portkeys are?" Amy had never had occasion to enter the wizarding world much, and a lot of it was still a bit of a mystery to her.

"It's a object bewitched to transport people somewhere at a predestined time. It's usually discarded stuff, like old drinks cans or out of date newspapers, so that the wrong person doesn't pick it up." She shivered, as Cedric glanced back over his shoulder at her.

"You still haven't told him then?" Ames asked, catching the shiver and the look in Cedric's eyes.

"We're not meant to tell anyone outside the family, you know that Ames." Catalina said, confused. "You know how much They walked mostly in silence, the cold and the fact that the moon was still high in the sky, not inspiring much conversation but many yawns broke from the five during their trek to Stoatshead Hill.

"Keep up girls!" Alexander called to them, when their destination finally became clear. The sky became brighter, inky black altering to a deep blue, but stars still sparkled. It was nowhere near sunrise.

"Coming dad!" They both quickened their pace to keep up with the other three. They didn't speak as they climbed Stoatshead Hill, the grass was slick with dew, and it was a lot steeper than Cedric and Catalina remembered, from when it had been their playground. He held her hand all the way up, and they helped each other keep their balance. The apparently firm ground was pitted with holes dug by animals, and people wielding metal detectors.

"Rory and I will look over there," Cedric told his father, pointing to the north slope of the hill, as Alexander finally reached the summit. Amy had already reached it, giggling at the state of her usually immaculately attired father. Mud stained the knees of his pants, he had caught his foot in a hole, and fallen heavily. "Okay," Mr Diggory watched, with a slight smirk on his face as his son walked away, hand in hand with Catalina. "So what do you think the portkey will be?" Catalina asked, she kept looking around for it, studying the grass at her feet.

"No idea, maybe a old newspaper..." Cedric suggested. "The others will find it." He sat down, stretching his long legs out over the damp grass, and leant back against the knotted bark of the ash tree behind him, closing his eyes. "Sit down with me for a minute." He patted the cold ground next to him in invitation. Catalina sat down, her leg brushing against his as she tried to get comfortable. "Stop wriggling Rory." He reached out, resting one hand on her thigh in a attempt to stop her moving, without opening his eyes. "I'm just trying to get comfy." She replied. "So what did you get up to this summer?"

"I've missed you too," She said sleepily, the sound of his heartbeat against her ear was comforting, and I could feel herself falling asleep.

Catalina had just nodded off, when his father appeared on the brow of the hill, clutching a mouldy boot in one hand. "I can see you two have been looking hard for the Portkey," Amos smirked.

Amy and Alexander were just behind him. "She's only just fallen asleep." Cedric said. Gently he rubbed her back, "Rory dad's found it." Catalina blinked, slowly waking up, a tinge of red flushing her cheeks as she saw that the other three were standing there. Alexander and Amos appeared amused and Catalina could see a flicker of amusement dance across her sister's face too.

"Come on." Amy stretched out one hand, pulling her sister to her feet. The five walked to the brow of the hill, waiting for the time when the Portkey would activate. "Arthur better get here soon, or he'll miss it." Mr Diggory glanced at the watch on his left wrist. "George's dad?" "How did you know?"

"He's over there." Catalina pointed to the other side of the hill, where seven people were clearly searching. The largest figure was tall with red hair which was receding fast. She was pleased to spot George, who was walking with his twin Fred, they both looked annoyed about something.

"That's George?" Amy said in a undertone to me. Catalina nodded. "He's really grown up hasn't he?"

Amos strode forward, waving to his friend "Over here, Arthur!" he yelled "Over here son! We've got it!" "Amos!" Mr Weasley strode across, smiling warmly. The other six followed in his wake, and they all looked half asleep. Mr Weasley shook hands with Cedric's dad, and then turned to the six children he had brought with him. Catalina recognised most of them, she knew Ron and Ginny through her friendship with the twins of course, and had known Harry since he was a baby but she couldn't quite remember the name of the bushy haired girl that accompanied them. Catalina knew it was Hermione, but couldn't remember her last name.

"This is Amos Diggory everyone," Mr Weasley announced. "Works in the Department for the regulation and control of magical ceatures, and I think you know his son Cedric?" Catalina could feel the embarrassment coming off him in waves, as he said "Hi," his eyes flickering quickly around at the six other teenagers. All of them replied apart from Fred and George, and she knew it was because of Quidditch, they were still harbouring a grudge over the fact that Cedric had not realised that Harry had fallen from his broom during their match the previous year. Catalina reached out, taking his hand and felt some of the embarrassment ebb away.

"Hi. I'm Alexander, this is my daughter Amy, and you already know Rory of course," Alexander said, trying to fill the awkward moment.

"Hey George." Catalina smiled warmly at her friend. She had never had a problem with the twins, she enjoyed their sense of humour, and had participated in a couple of their practical jokes in previous years. She was closer to George than Fred though, finding that Fred could sometimes be cruel.

"Hey Rory." She was startled to hear George's thoughts _So that's Rory's sister? God that family has good genes, their mum must have been a stunner. I mean Rory's pretty but her sister... wow..._ Even more surprising was the wave of pleasure she received from Amy, as the older woman noticed George's glance over, a bright red flush appeared on her cheeks. Amy wasn't exactly the blushing type, she was usually unflappable. He came over to talk to them, overcoming his dislike of Cedric for the prospect of talking to a pretty woman. "When did you get back?"

"Yesterday. Ames, dad and I came back via L.A." She said "I actually was gonna come and see you,"

"See me?" George was surprised.

"Yeah, I wanted to see if you'd gotten any further with the Wheezes." Catalina said. "You've nearly perfected the toffees right?"

"You knew?" Ron burst out, slightly offended Why would they tell her before telling me? I'm their brother.

"She found out." Fred corrected. "We had rather a nasty incident, when we were inventing one of our other lines, and we couldn't exactly go to Madam Pomfrey. Rory's been patching us up since second year, so she was the obvious choice."

"What kind of incident?" Mr Weasley asked, _What have they been up to? I don't see any permanent damage, so this Rory girl must know what she's doing, but they shouldn't have relied on a fellow student to patch them up_. His concern was obvious Molly was right to destroy those toffees.

"It was nothing." George reassured his father. "A small accident creating our humbugs that's all."

"George?" Arthur's mild mannered tones were turning a little steely.

"Okay um... I lost the bones in my right finger." He confessed. "It only took one touch from Rory though, and they were all back."

_ Rory, what have you been up to? Replacing even one bone takes a lot of energy_ Alexander's thoughts came through loud and clear, his 'voice' was heavy with disappointment and worry.

_I was fine, I just got a little tired that's all_. Catalina replied, she was used to these non verbal conversations with her father. He had been the one to teach her how to control the volume of people's thoughts, and even to block thoughts completely. He had been aware of his own telepathic ability since he was five years old. _I couldn't exactly let George wander around missing bones, and my way's quicker than Madam Pomfrey's anyway._

Alexander sighed _That's not the point_. He noted the set of her jaw, and the determination in her thoughts, and gave in _Just be careful who you tell, and how often you use the ability._

_ I always am. You don't have to worry, Cedric always makes sure I'm okay_. Cedric squeezed her hand, redirecting her attention away from the conversation with her father, "Sorry what?" She hadn't heard Mr Weasley asking her a question.

"How did you restore his bones with just one touch?" Mr Weasley repeated. _T__hat's something I've never heard of, and the kids have been patched up many times._

"I learnt some non verbal magic from a tribe in Mali. Their magic's slightly different to ours, and they taught me a lot." She told him. She wasn't had learnt some control at the age of nine when her father had taken her to see his old friend Hugh, who was the head of the Malian division of the ILA. "It's interesting learning from different cultures, they all have their own way of doing things. I learned a bit more while I was in Mexico this summer."

"I knew I recognised you." Ginny said suddenly, she had been silently watching the conversation, "You're the Ravenclaw Chaser aren't you? The one that took part in the tournament with Viktor Krum?"

"Yeah." Catalina rubbed her nose, feeling embarrassed, at the attention of the entire Weasley family.

"The papers were full of stuff about you all summer. You're making quite a splash young lady." Mr Weasley commented.

"Always knew she would." Amos said proudly, but then glanced at his watch. "It's nearly time." The Weasleys, Alexander and Cedric all pressed one finger to the boot, squishing together despite the heavy backpacks.

"What about Luna?" Catalina asked, worrying about Cedric's neighbour even as she joined the circle. Cedric shifted over to make room for her between him and Fred, and she pressed my thumb against the rough leather of the heel.

"Who's Luna?" Amy wondered, from her position between George and Ginny. Catalina had never mentioned the name to her before, she was pretty good with names, and was sure that she would have remembered one as unusual as Luna.

"She's a neighbour of ours. She's a bit of a nutter." Fred commented.

"She's not nuts Fred." Catalina defended the younger girl instantly. "She's just a bit eccentric, that's all." She had liked the Ravenclaw third year from the first moment she met her, after Luna's sorting. "Shouldn't we wait for her and her dad?"

"They're already there. They went about a week ago." Ginny piped up. The news relieved Catalina, and she smiled across at Cedric.

"Okay it's almost time." Amos announced, checking his watch again.

Mr Weasley said. "Come on Harry, Hermione. You need to touch it." The two joined the tight circle, standing either side of Ron. All twelve of them stood there in a tight circle, as a chilly breeze swept over the hillside. "One... two... three!" Mr Weasley said, and then she felt her feet leave the ground. The world was spinning out of control all around her, her right thumb glued to the heel of the boot, and she felt exhilarated, the adrenaline rising once more in her system. She loves all the high octane sports that this world offers, all her siblings have that in common. Because they can recover from any injury they tend to not worry about accidents. The wind got worse, roaring around them all as they are falling, whipping her hair into her eyes, and stinging all exposed skin. The sensation reminded her forcibly of the travel between Heaven and Earth.  
_  
_


	6. The Odd couple

The Odd Couple

She glanced round, taking in her surroundings properly for the first time. They had landed on a stretch of moorland which was devoid of any housing that she could see. The moor was covered by sprigs of heather, the purple plant covering the landscape in great swathes. A snow capped hill cleared the mist to the north of them, and she could hear birds singing as they circled overhead, but the thick mist made it impossible for her to pick out the species. George scrambled to his feet and then helped Amy up, leaving his twin to get up himself.

The twelve of them had landed directly in front of a pair of very tired and grumpy looking wizards, one of whom was holding onto a large gold watch, and she guessed he must be the one who had spoken. God I'm so cold, why did I agree to do this? Next time I'm definitely suggesting that they hold it somewhere warmer, either that or sending Gatley, I'll say that it's a rotational thing, we all have to do it once. The watch keeper's thought made Catalina smile. The other man held a quill and a long roll of parchment. It was obvious to her that the two had not had much experience of the Muggle world, as they had clearly attempted to go incognito but the watch keeper was wearing a tweed suit with thigh high galoshes, and the other wore a kilt and a poncho.

"Are you okay? You've been quiet for way too long," Cedric said, worry glinting in his soft grey eyes behind the amusement. This isn't normal for her, shouldn't she be talking my ear off right now? Is she sick? She doesn't look so good.

"Yeah. I just know I definitely prefer brooms." She told him, a half smile quirking her mouth as she shook off the sense of deja vu that had gripped her when she saw the hill. "Spinning through space with no visible support, isn't good for even my iron stomach."

"I knew that there had to be something." He teased her. "It just took me twelve years to find out what it was."

"She's still doing better than you did on your first go." Amos said, pulling a bottle of water from his pack. God I still remember it, there was sick everywhere. Thank god Rory's not throwing up. He studied her for a moment, though she does look a little bit green. "Here Rory." She accepted it gratefully, taking a long swig as her stomach settled down.

She refocused on the conversation between the kilted wizard and Mr Weasley as the former checked his long parchment list. "All right Arthur, your and Gian's camping spot is about a quarter of a mile's walk over there, first field you come to. Site manager's called Mr Roberts. Diggory... second field... ask for Mr Payne."

"Thanks Basil." Mr Weasley said to the kilted wizard, and they all set off again, tramping across the moor. Gian, Amos and Arthur headed the procession. Fred walked with Harry and Ron the three were discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the Bulgarian team, just ahead of Hermione and Ginny, and Amy, George, Catalina and Cedric brought up the rear.

"So you never really said, have you got any further with Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes?" Catalina asked, as Cedric helped her avoid a particularly large lump of rabbit dirt. "Thanks Ced."

"What is that?" Amy asked, confused.

"It's going to be our shop. Fred and I are going into business together." George told her.

"Oh really. What are you going to be doing?" Amy's interest was definitely peaked by the tall redheaded lad, and it was even better if he was financially stable. Her ex husband had been a struggling musician, and relied on her to support them both, nearly draining her trust fund.

"It's going to be a joke shop, with trick sweets, and fake wands that sort of thing." George told her. "But my mother found the prototypes of a toffee line we've been perfecting, and threw them all out."

"The ton tongue toffees?" Catalina wasn't really surprised that Mrs Weasley had destroyed that particular line.

"Yeah. She's burned all our order forms and told us not to make anything more." George said angrily, "Six months of work down the drain! God I wish I was rich and had the finances to open up right now."

"I could give you a start up loan," Catalina offered. "I'm supposed to come into my trust fund next year. I could give you some if you're sure that you want to open the shop." She knew that it would be a solid investment, as she had seen that the twins worked hard if they were actually interested in the subject and they had been talking about having their own joke shop for months.

"Oh we're definitely opening." Fred had heard their conversation and dropped back to join in. "You'd seriously give us the money?"

"Of course. As long as you were sure, and it wasn't going to cause tension." Catalina said. "Your mother's obviously not keen on the idea."

"Thanks for the offer Rory, but we'd rather do it off our own backs." George said. "I'd feel better that way." Fred grabbed his brother's arm, and they had a brief discussion about whether to accept the offer or not. George won, pointing out that it was a big risk to be taking with somebody's else's money. He wasn't willing to run the risk of falling out with Catalina.

Eventually the Roberts' sturdy grey stone cottage loomed out of the mist, and beyond it, she saw a large campsite had been erected in the field that used to house their shire horses, Bessie and Pike. The tents crept slowly up the hill, towards the large sprawling dark wood on the horizon. The wood had been a favourite haunt for her and some of the local boys, they had spent hours running along the little used trails, using the tyre swing that somebody had fixed to the ancient oak tree in the north of the wood, and exploring the set of caves to the west.

The others prepared to say goodbye, and Catalina suddenly remembered the very belated birthday presents she had got for the twins. She dug them out of the side pocket of her bag, handing the small neatly wrapped parcels over. "It's about time DiVita." Fred's lips quirked "It's only what... three months late?"

"I know. I know. I'm sorry but you two aren't exactly the easiest people to buy for. I didn't have a clue what to get you." She confessed. "Open it later okay?"

"Nah." They ripped into the paper together, revealing two copies of the tournament programme. "What's this?" Fred was slightly annoyed, that it had taken her three months to come up with such a lame present.

George was flicking through the pages, his eyes widening a little. "Fred, just look inside. It's got the autograph of every current professional Beater in the world." He hugged Catalina "Thanks Rory."

"I figured seeing as you've been Beaters, you might like the signatures of a few fellow Beaters." She said.

"Cheers Rory." The Weasleys led the way into Mr Roberts' yard. Gian and Amy followed after saying bye to Catalina.

"That was a thoughtful present." Amos told her, as he, Cedric and Catalina followed the narrow dirt track up the hill, to Mr Payne's farm.

"I'm relieved that they like it." Catalina said honestly. As she spoke, the Payne's whitewashed farm house came into view, it still had the same crumbling dry stone wall, and rusty gate. A old bicycle was resting against the right side of the house, and they had strung their washing lines up between their house and a old elm tree. "Who's going to ask about the pitch?" She asked, not holding out much hope that the Diggories would want to speak to Muggles. Cedric wasn't the most self confident person when it came to speaking to strangers, and Amos didn't have that much contact with them, in his day to day life.

"You." The father and son said in unison, so Catalina let herself through the gate, and started across the muddy yard.

A over excited border collie came racing around the side of the house, it's tongue lolling out of the side of it's mouth, and started lolloping in circles around her. "Hey boy," Catalina scratched behind it's ears gently. "Where's your owner?"

"Nipper!" A annoyed male voice called, "Bloody mutt!" and then she could hear quick footsteps following in Nipper's wake. A tall, dark haired man in his late thirties came around the corner a few moments later. "Oh sorry." He stopped in his tracks when he spotted Catalina standing there. Bloody hell, where did this one come from? She's definitely not from around here, girls aren't built like that. He pondered Although Andrea's daughter is a bit of alright.

"It's okay. Are you George Payne?" She wished that she had asked either Bella or Amy, what Andrea's fiance looked like. She had some memories of him, being a kindly man, but it had been nearly ten years since she had been in the area.

He laughed, slightly nervously. "No. No. That's my dad. He's out at the moment." He told her. "I'm Graeme." He stuck out one hand, to her. "What's your name?"

"I'm Cat. My friend, his father and I made a booking." She told him. "We booked not long ago." Amos and Cedric walked into the yard, flanking her on either side.

"Right okay. I'll check the list," he ducked inside the front door, grabbing the list of names from the hall table. "Diggory and Jones?" she nodded, and he scanned the names, ticking them off when he found them. "You're right at the top of the hill, because you were the last ones to book."

"That's fine. We're only staying tonight, so we'll pay now." Catalina pulled her wallet from her coat pocket, and retrieved her share of her father's money from poker. He had given it to her so that she could pay for both pitches.

"I'll just get your change," Graeme headed back inside, to get the cashbox and a map of the camp site. He rummaged through the cashbox in front of them, "You're more normal looking than the majority of them." He said suddenly, fixing his gaze on Catalina. "Roberts, the bloke that owns next door, told my dad he'd seen one of the campers wandering around in a kilt and a poncho."

"He's just taking part in the annual fancy dress party. It's part of the festivities whenever the ILA get together, we just have our costumes in our bags that's all." Catalina told him. She didn't want the Ministry wizards to alter his memory, as he seemed like a nice enough bloke and also because of his familial connection to Bella.

"Ah okay." Graeme said, clearly accepting her explanation. "Here's your change and a map of the campsite."

"Thank you," She smiled as she slipped the map into her coat pocket. The Diggories walked slowly out of the yard, closely followed by Catalina.

Cedric took her hand as they started to walk up the steep hill. "Part of me is very impressed by that lie, and part of me is a little afraid of how easy it was for you." He commented sincerely to Catalina.

"Oh that wasn't easy. I hate having to lie, but I didn't want his memory to be tampered with." She replied. "He's going to be my friend's stepbrother in a couple of months. It might be difficult trying to explain to Andrea why her stepson can't remember some details of his past." The tents they were passing mostly looked normal, but then she spotted one shaped as the Sphinx, and a few feet further along was one that resembled a Georgian townhouse complete with black railings. It wasn't exactly surpising that Graeme and his neighbour were getting suspicious.

"Here we are." Amos said cheerfully, pointing to the small signs with their names on that had been erected right at the top of the field. The pitches were right next to each other. Catalina was more adept at setting up her nearly new tent, it took her ten minutes to remember where everything went, and then she helped the struggling Diggories. "Thank you." Amos said, standing back to admire Catalina's handiwork. "Why don't you two go and see if any of your friends are here too?" I'm knackered. All the organising of the different pets' coming into the country, I'm so glad that we only do this once every four years. Hopefully it won't be held in Britain again before I retire.

"Okay." Cedric replied. He got his need for sleep from his father, and knew it was safer to leave him be. "Come on Rory."

The two set off back down the hill, and had only gone twenty feet before they heard the booming tones of Patrick Summers calling to them. "Rory! Get over here Miss National Chaser!" they turned to see him emerging from a tent that had blended in so throughly with the grass, that it resembled a minature hillock.

"Hey Paddy." Catalina beamed, letting the beefy sixth year Hufflepuff wrap her in a hug. She didn't think Patrick knew his own strength sometimes, his heavily muscled arms lifting her clear off the ground. She liked Patrick a great deal, he was uncomplicated, and she didn't feel the same sense of guilt that she usually did when she heard his thoughts, as he didn't say one thing and think another. His easygoing nature had helped them make the transition from boyfriend/girlfriend to friend very easily, it also helped that they had never been that serious. The two had dated at the age of twelve, and had only kissed a handful of times. "Hey Jenny." She smiled over Patrick's huge shoulder at his girlfriend of the last eighteen months and her dormmate Jennifer Monks. Patrick slowly let her down, her feet hit the mossy ground, and she stepped back a little.

"I thought you were still in Mexico?" Jenny asked, clearly confused. Isn't she supposed to be seeing Viktor Krum? Why is she holding hands with Cedric? The curvy redhead shook her head, dismissing the thought "Never mind, come with me. We have some serious catching up to do." Jenny grabbed Catalina's arm and literally propelled the taller girl into the tent. It was far bigger than the outside seemed, with a kitchen, three bedrooms, a dining room, a fully fitted bathroom and a living room. I've gotta get the gossip first this time. I hate being told everything by the Slytherins, and that Margo Hopkinson in particular.

Catalina's phone went off at that point, and she dug it out of her jean's pocket, glancing at the number to see that it was Amy's. "Sorry Jen, it's my sister. I've gotta..." she trailed off, as she answered the phone. "Hi Ames."

"Okay Rory, first off your friend George is lovely." Amy informed her.

"I knew that already Ames. That's why he's my friend." Catalina smiled. "But I'm glad to hear that you think so too. Although I knew you would." She smirked.

"Don't be smug!" Amy complained laughingly. "I'm heading down to see Andrea if you want to come. Or have you already seen her?"

"No, she wasn't there when we paid. It was her future stepson, Graeme?" She wasn't sure if that was really his name. She knew it had begun with G, but wasn't positive what it was.

"Oh. Bella says he's all right, but he's a massive flirt." Her sister replied. "Are you going to come with me? Or have you already met up with some people?" she suddenly remembered that Catalina had said that a lot of her friends were attending the Cup.

"Yeah I have but..."

Catalina didn't really want to say anything, but Amy could tell."Let me guess, they've been reading the Prophet and are eager to grill you about what's going on between you and Viktor, because they actually believe that idiotic woman?"

"Yeah, that's right." Catalina admitted. She glanced around, seeing that Cedric and Patrick were now playing cards in the living room while Jenny was bustling around the kitchen. Her friend's thoughts were still broadcasting loud and clear. She likes coffee doesn't she? I'll grab some biscuits, and get all the gossip about those big stars she's been playing with. God I bet she's got some great tales. "I'll walk down and meet you at Mr Payne's in about twenty minutes, okay?"

"Sure, I'll give you a get out clause." The amusement was clear in Amy's voice, "If I don't see you, I'll assume you've met up with somebody else," the sisters hung up at the same time, and Catalina shoved her phone back into her pocket.

"Sorry Jen, my sister's not very good with directions. I'm going to walk down and meet her at the bottom of the hill." Catalina plastered a look of regret on her face.

"We'll come with you." Cedric and Patrick chorused.

"I'll come too." Jenny decided, taking the kettle off the boil and then grabbing her coat off the back of the kitchen chair.

I'm kinda curious about this mysterious sister. I wonder if she's the one that works in the States? "Now this one works in the States right?" Patrick asked, as he pulled on his mac before following the others out of the tent.

"Yeah." When they emerged from the tent, they saw that many of their fellow campers were starting to cook their breakfasts. A plume of bright violet smoke rose from the chimney of the tent opposite, and three wizards with thick Afro hair sat outside the silken striped one next door, eating from bowls of oatmeal.

"I never actually realised how many different nationalities would be coming to the Cup." Patrick said, as they walked downhill. Catalina heard Italian, French, Bulgarian and Spanish coming from some of the tents with their flaps open, as well as some languages that she wasn't familiar with. "Most of it is incomprehensible to me."

"Me too." Cedric said. "They all sound excited though."

"Who wouldn't be? It's going to be a great match." Patrick said "But you've played against both teams, who do you think will win?" He asked Catalina.

"Both sides are light years ahead of anyone else playing right now. Who are you backing?"

"Ireland all the way." His statement was seconded loudly and enthusiastically as they had wandered into the Irish supporters stretch of tents. Everywhere they looked was green, the Irish supporters had covered their tents with shamrocks.

"You got that right." Shannon Murphy had just come out of her tent. She had clearly just woken up, she was still in her pyjamas, with very rumpled hair and had nothing on her feet. "Hey Rory, hey Ced." She greeted them brightly. The three of them had all attended Highgate before coming to Hogwarts and had formed a strong three way friendship. Shannon also lived on the same street as Catalina in London, and was close friends with Jonathan and Steve.

"Hey Sandy." They replied as one. Cedric was very pleased to see the sixth year Ravenclaw, as it meant less time speaking to Jenny.

"Come in for a bit. Molly and I were about to have brunch." Shannon suggested. "We've got plenty."

"I don't know if you could ever have enough. Patrick eats like a horse." Jenny laughed lightly as she followed the others into Shannon's tent. It had the proportions of a six roomed apartment, two bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a bathroom, a games room and a fully fitted kitchen.

"That's okay, so do we." Shannon replied, leading the way into the dining room. The mahogany dining table was filled with food, seven different kinds of cereals, a platter of different fruits including strawberries, grapes and melon, pancakes, waffles, bacon, burgers, sausages, scrambled egg and fried egg, mushrooms, fried bread, and tomatoes. A small drinks trolley that had milk, apple juice, orange juice, coffee and tea on it, sat at the far end, next to the window. "We're not having a party or anything. Molly has to have the choices right before her, in order to make a decision."

"Oh you are so my kinda girl." Patrick laughed as he sat down. Jenny sat down next to him, resting one hand on his leg, as she reached for the platter of fruit and selected a grape with the other. Shannon shook her head, amused by Jenny's antics and grabbed a plate off the Welsh dresser.

Molly, Shannon's seven year old sister was sitting on the low bench, munching through a stack of pancakes with strawberries. Her eyes widened as she saw Catalina and Cedric come in. She had developed a bit of hero worship for Cedric over the years. "Ced!" the tiny brunette got off the bench, and ran to him for a hug. "Sandy didn't say you were coming."

"It's good to see you Molly." Cedric said softly. He had always enjoyed hanging out with her.

"I've got something to show you." She began trying to drag him off towards the games room.

"Can I have breakfast first?" he was starving again, and the smell of all that food was far too tempting.

"No it's important." Molly's huge hazel eyes filled with pleading, and she pouted. That expression on her tiny face had always gotten her what she wanted with Cedric.

"Okay you win. Let's go," he cast one glance back at the food before Molly led him out of the room.

"He's such a sucker for that look, isn't he?" Shannon laughed, filling her plate with all the fried foods.

"He's always been wrapped around her little finger, you know that Sandy." Catalina sat down opposite Jenny and Patrick, grabbing a empty bowl from the stack at the end of the table. She wasn't really in the mood for another lot of fried food, and grabbed the box of Rice Krispies, pouring some into her bowl, before slicing a banana on top. "What is she showing him?"

"She got another computer game for her birthday. She's been dying to show him for the last couple of weeks." Shannon replied, cutting into her sausage. "I've got a bone to pick with you though Rory."

"What?" Catalina wasn't worried, her friend's eyes sparkled with amusement behind the mock anger. Patrick was working his way through the mounds of food on his plate, but Jenny was actively listening, as she buttered her pancakes.

"How could you have flown off to Mexico without taking me?" Shannon complained. "Sand, sun and lots of attractive, muscly men who actually work for a living? You know that's my idea of heaven. I could have been your own personal cheerleader."

Catalina laughed, dropping her spoon back into the bowl. "I promise, if I ever get the opportunity to do something like that again, I'll make sure they send three tickets." She told her friend.

"What do you mean if? I thought it went amazingly well." Patrick said.

"Oh it was amazing, and I think I did okay, but I have no idea if Mr Reyes thinks I'm good enough." Catalina said "He's not the easiest man to read."

"They were always raving about you in the Prophet." Shannon said. "Of course they're going to pick you."

Catalina opened her mouth but was interrupted by a owl's low hoot. A tawny owl swooped inside the tent, landing on the table before her, and it was carrying a silver envelope in it's beak. She took it out, and it immediately took flight again. When she turned the envelope over, she saw the scrawl of her agent and realised what it was. "I guess we'll find out now." She commented, opening it with shaking fingers. Carefully she unfolded the sheet of paper inside, and scanned it. Relief swamped through her, closely followed by pride as she read Congratulations Cat, Mr Reyes wants you to join the squad as a full time player as soon as you come of age. He sent me a letter as soon as you left the training ground, and will be writing to you in a few days to formally extend the invitation. But you did it. Celebrate with your friends at the Cup, and enjoy next year. I'll be in touch again soon.

"Well?" Shannon was nervous for her friend. They better have picked her. She's too good for them to have rejected her.

"I made it." A enormous grin split her face as she met Shannon's eyes.

"Really?" Catalina's nod was all the confirmation Shannon needed and she was out of her seat, hugging her friend tightly "I knew it! I knew that they'd pick you!"

"That's amazing!" Patrick had also bounded to his feet, and wrapped both girls in a hug. "Ced get in here!" he called out. "Rory's got some news!"

Cedric appeared a few seconds later "What news? Is it the..." he noticed the silver letter still clasped in her hand, and the delighted smiles on Catalina, Patrick and Shannon's faces. "You got it?"

"Yes." She whispered.

His face lit up, and he strode over to grab her in a huge hug, lifting her off the floor. "God I'm so proud of you," he murmured, smoothing one rumpled lock back behind her ear.

"This calls for some Champagne," Shannon announced "Paddy grab some glasses would you?" She grabbed a bottle of her father's Champagne from the rack, and popped the cork, as Patrick handed out the glasses. She quickly poured some out for everyone, and then cleared her throat looking pointedly at Jenny. She had still not congratulated Catalina. "Why don't you give the toast Jenny?"

"Oh um..." Jenny stuttered.

"I'll do it." Cedric raised his glass, "To Rory, by far the best looking Quidditch player in the world." He smiled at her. "You've always been amazing Rory, now the world's finally going to see what we've always known and you're going to wow them." He was so proud of her. "To Rory."

"To Rory," the others chorused, and then drank their champagne.

"I'm going to go and tell dad and Ames." Catalina decided. "Are you gonna come too?" she glanced at Jenny, Patrick and Shannon.

"Of course. Just give me five minutes to change. I think people might notice if I wandered around in my pyjamas." Shannon remarked, glancing down at her cotton boxers and vest top.

"I'm always up for a trip to see Gian." Patrick responded.

Shannon rejoined them, having changed into a pair of jeans and a halter top. "Moll come on, we're going for a walk!" Molly appeared at the doorway to the main part of the tent within seconds of her sister's call and they all set off. Cedric and Molly walked together, the little girl holding onto his hand, and listening intently to his descriptions of the various Ministry wizards they passed. "Okay now, I know that you haven't started playing yet, but for your next training session I'm thinking maybe the Bahamas?" Shannon laughed.

"It doesn't exactly work like that Sandy." Catalina nudged her friend playfully as they walked. "But that would be nice."

"Well wherever it is, you're gonna have your own cheering section." She said. "Steve, Teddy and I talked it over, and we've decided. We'll borrow his dad's Cessna, because there's quite a few of us in the Rorettes."

"Rorettes?" Patrick asked, a smile twitching at his lips.

"Yeah. Teddy christened us, he's a fan of Motown, you know the Dreamettes, the Ronettes, the Supremes." Shannon said.

"Well I'm up for the trip, next time Rory's playing but I ain't being called a Rorette." Patrick slung one arm around Catalina's shoulders "I love you Rory, but not quite that much."

"Glad to hear it," Cedric remarked lightly, having heard his friend's last sentence. "How many are in the Rorettes?" He was curious to see how many of his girlfriend's friends would support her in that way.

"It's five of us at the minute. Teddy, Charlie, Steve, Paddy and me. Tiffani wants to come but she's just started a new job, and it would depend on the dates whether she could come." Jonathan's girlfriend Tiffani was a little bit older than them, she had been friends with Charlie for a long time but only been seeing Jonathan for a couple of months. "Are you up for the trip?"

"Of course." He replied. "I've always been a Rorette at heart."

"You lot are completely crazy, but so sweet." Catalina laughed, as they entered the first field, and started making their way up to where Gian and the Weasleys had camped.

When they arrived, it was to see that the others were sitting outside, and had been joined by the three oldest Weasley boys. Arthur smiled as soon as he noticed them "Hello you lot. I don't believe you've met my eldest sons have you?" He said "This is Catalina DiVita,"

"Yeah we know dad." The long haired boy said, "I'm Bill, and that's Charlie." He gestured to a stocky redhead who lay, fast asleep on the wet grass.

"Hi." Jenny, Patrick, Molly and Shannon all seated themselves in the circle. "Is dad about?" she asked Amy, who was sitting with George.

"He's still asleep. Why?" Amy glanced up at her sister's hand, and gasped at the sight of the silver letter. "Is that what I think it is?" She asked, grabbing it from her and scanning it quickly. Amy's face completely lit up and she hugged her sister with such force that they both stumbled backwards onto the ground laughing. "Congratulations honey. God knows you worked hard enough for it."

"What's going on?" George and Fred asked together, their confusion echoed in the faces of the other Weasleys and Harry and Hermione.

"Rory's a official member of the Italian squad now." Shannon burst out proudly. Cedric seated himself next to Molly, feeling the damp grass seeping into the seat of his pants.

"Not until I come of age." Catalina corrected, as she and Amy managed to sit up.

"It's still incredible Rory." Cedric said quietly.

"He's right sweetheart." Gian said from the doorway of his tent, he had heard Amy's delighted cries as he got dressed. "Come give me a hug. I'm so proud of you." He squeezed the slender girl tightly, kissing the crown of her hair. The Weasleys' all echoed his congratulations and George pulled her into a brief hug once her father had released her.

As the afternoon drew on, they relaxed sitting on the grass, watching people pass by. George talked about the information Ludo Bagman had let slip about a mysterious event happening at Hogwarts, and he, Fred, Catalina, Shannon and Patrick debated about what it could possibly be. People's excitement was contagious, and seemed to be spilling throughout the campsite like a fog.

At dusk, salesmen started appearing, apparating every few feet with trays and carts for their merchandise. "What are you gonna buy?" Cedric asked, as they wandered through the party had split up, all going in different directions. He and Catalina were walking with Shannon, Patrick, Jenny, Molly, Amy, and the twins.

"I want one of those." Molly pointed to the green hats bedecked with dancing shamrocks. She dug into her pocket, getting her pocket money out. Shannon, Amy and Patrick followed suit, buying themselves one.

"You're not seriously gonna wear that are you?" Jenny asked, as Patrick put his hat on at a angle.

"Of course." He smiled.

"You look ridiculous." Jenny remarked, sniffing.

"I think you look dashing Paddy." Shannon told him, as she shoved her own hat down over her light brown curls.

Amy slipped hers on adjusting the brim, "I agree, they're fantastic." She said "George what do you reckon?"

"You look great." He smiled at her.

"Rory, Ced what do you think?" Patrick asked "To wear or not to wear?"

"Ah that is the question." Cedric laughed. "Well it's definitely distinctive, actually..." he brought himself one, slipping it down over his messy hair. "What do you think Rory?"

"You all look great. Smile," She pulled her phone out, snapping a quick picture of the five of them, all grinning like idiots. They all purchased a large green rosette that said the players names. Amy brought one for the twins as well, and then they all got a Irish flag.

Catalina got a Bulgarian scarf complete with a lion that actually roared "Why do you want that?" Shannon groaned as she saw it.

"They're the underdog." Cedric said, "You know she always feels sorry for the underdog." He took her hand as they meandered through the rest of the stalls.

"Hey look at those!" Molly broke away from the rest of them, running over to a stall piled high with what looked like binoculars, but they had unusual dials all over them.

"They're Omnioculars. They can replay action... or slow it down, and they can break it down play by play if you want them too. They're only ten galleons each," the salesman told her.

"Okay well we want nine pairs right?" Shannon asked, glancing around at her companions. "I mean everyone wants a pair don't they?"

"We're out of cash." Fred said. "We already bet it all on the match."

"I'll get yours." Shannon told them. "Consider it a belated birthday present," she handed a pair to both twins.

"Fair enough." George smiled. Cedric, Amy and Shannon each purchased a programme and then they headed back to the Weasley's tents. Ginny, Bill and Charlie had all got a large green rosette. Amos was there and laughed at his son's choice of headwear. Ron was wearing a shamrock hat, and a green rosette, and Mr Weasley was carrying a Irish flag. Gian had a Bulgarian scarf knotted around his neck and was carrying a Irish flag.

They had only just reached the tents when a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed to life in the trees, lighting the way to the pitch. "It's time!" Mr Weasley looked just as excited as the teenagers. "Let's go."  



	7. Chapter 7

My favourite Game

Gian, Mr Weasley and Amos led the way along the lantern lit trail, following the crowds of excited witches and wizards that were either wearing scarlet or green, depending on their allegiance. The group fell into step with a huge gang of Irish supporters, who were waving their flags and talking at top speed of their squad's chances. "It's so exciting," Molly said, holding onto her flag with one hand, and Shannon's hand with the other. "I've never been to the World Cup before."

"Oh you're in for a treat lass." A beefy white haired man commented. He was walking close by them holding hands with his elderly wife, both were wearing the hats and rosettes and she was carrying a flag in her free hand. "We've been to every Cup for the past sixty years and we always have a fantastic crack." He had a thick Dublin accent, and a thin moustache that curved up at the ends.

"Really? You were there when Vanni, Nosta and Vetra scored three hundred points on their own?" Gian asked. Ernesto Vanni, Josephina Nostra and Frederica Vetra were still hailed as heroes and their performance in the 402nd World Cup had yet to be equalled.

"Of course we were, that was one to remember. That man could fly like no other player I've ever seen. He almost looked weightless didn't he Sharon?" The man asked his wife.

"Weightless? Not really, I'd say more like a swimmer." Sharon remarked, remembering it clearly. "The women were better fliers than him though, and they just worked as a team," she had just as a thick accent as her husband. "Almost as though they were sharing thoughts."

"Oh Vanni was talented there's no doubt about that but there are a few newcomers that could challenge his position as the best Chaser." A weaselly looking dark haired man who was walking on Sharon's other side interjected.

"Like who?" Cedric asked.

"Well Moran's a remarkable player, or Gates of England." He offered.

"I'll accept that Moran's first class but Gates?" Gian's voice was filled with disdain "He's good at a local level, but he's too inconsistent to really be classed as a great international. He was shocking in that tournament down in Mexico."

"He didn't do that badly dad," Caterina objected. Stop baiting them, she thought laughing.

Jenny wasn't listening to the discussion of the players, she had been flicking through her programme "This should be interesting, there'll be a display from each team's mascots."

"What kind of display?" Shannon asked, wondering if it was something that Molly shouldn't see.

"It's nothing bad Sandy," Gian assured his daughter's friend. "It's just their mascots showing off." Shannon relaxed instantly.

"Have you phoned Viktor?" Amy inquired. "To wish him good luck."

"No. He doesn't really like to talk to people just before a match. It disturbs his focus." Caterina replied. She was walking hand in hand with Cedric a few feet behind Amy and George.

"Ring him." Patrick urged, a cheeky grin curving his mouth. He was walking alongside them, Jenny had dropped back and was walking with Ginny.

"Yeah go on Rory. If it'll help Ireland win." Fred said, twirling his flag. "I'm sure he'd be happy to hear from you."

"No. I'm not going to distract him." She laughed "You two are awful."

"Do you know him or something?" Sharon asked, squinting at Caterina.

"We're old friends," She replied truthfully.

Molly gasped as they emerged out of the woods, and saw a gigantic golden stadium rising up before them. "Sandy look!" Shannon was also struck dumb.

"It seats a hundred thousand," Amos told them.

"Really?" Caterina was just as awestruck as the others, no matter that she had seen huge stadiums before. She had been to the last three World cups, and each time had been amazed again by the amount of work that went into them.

"Yeah, a Ministry task force's been working all year to get it ready." Mr Weasley remarked. "There's Muggle repelling charms all over the place." Gian led the way to the nearest entrance where a crush of people were already gathered and shouting, desperate to be first to their seats.

"These are prime seats!" the witch at the gate said, once she had checked over their tickets. "Just go right to the top of the stairs."

The stairs were carpeted in a rich purple wool. George held Amy's hand as they walked up the wide stairs, following the rest of their party. Caterina smiled to see her sister being treated so kindly, her luck with men hadn't been the best. The rest of the crowd slowly seated themselves in the stands to the left and right of them. Jenny and Patrick said goodbye as they reached their seats halfway up "I'll see you back at your tent Sandy. Party's still on yeah?" He asked.

"Definitely." Shannon's eyes sparkled. "We'll have a lot to celebrate." She rejoined the others, catching up with Caterina "That girl's awful." She commented in a undertone.

"I know she's not the nicest person but do you have to wind her up by flirting with Paddy?" Caterina glanced back, to see Jenny's face had clouded with hurt.

"Yes. Paddy's cute and deserves so much better than Jenny. They don't fit." Shannon asserted. "I'm just showing him that he has options, that's all." Molly had gone ahead with Gian and was already seated, along with the rest of their party when the two girls finally made it into the small box positioned between the two goal posts. There were about fifty chairs set up in neat rows, and their party had taken up quite a few of them. Fred, George, Amy, Amos, Cedric and Molly were all sitting in the front row, and the others had filed into the rows behind. Molly had been quite vociferous in her defence of seats for her sister and Caterina.

Caterina seated herself in the empty seat between Amos and Cedric, and Shannon sat on the end. "Okay I know I've been up here before, but wow." She said, glancing over the top of the gold railing in front of her, to see everyone else filing into their seats.

Molly said, "Look Sandy!" she pointed at the huge blackboard directly opposite them. The adverts were written in gold, and kept altering as though a unseen hand was wiping it clean every time. "The grass looks a bit like velvet from up here." She commented, copying Caterina and peering carefully over the bar.

"Be careful Moll. It's a long way down," Cedric warned her.

Molly seated herself again, but twisted around in her seat to see who else was here. "Who's that?" She asked, nodding over to the tiny creature in the corner. Harry was speaking to it, and seemed to be surprised that it wasn't the one that he knew.

"She's a house elf." Shannon told her sister. "They're like a servant in some wizarding families." The box became full over the next half a hour. Mr Weasley and Amos greeted several very important wizards, and then Mr and Mrs Krum entered. They were a handsome couple, but looked ill at ease as they paused in the doorway.

"Who are they?" Shannon asked.

"Vik's mum and dad," Caterina got up, going to give them a hug. She had been very fond of the couple while living in Sofia, and they had always been very kind to her.

"Caterina!" Mrs Krum said, kissing her on both cheeks in greeting "It is been many years since ve haff seen you. You have grown into a very beautiful lady." Mrs Krum's tall statuesque frame was draped in a thick brown fur coat, her auburn hair just visible under her wide brimmed hat.

"It's so good to see you again, Natascha." She hugged Mr Krum, "Andrei. I was very pleased when Viktor said you were coming over to watch him."

"Of course ve vould come to see him." Andrei said. "It is the parent's right to be very proud of their child. You know this Gian yes?" His bright green eyes zeroed in on Gian, who had stayed seated.

"Yes. I'm very proud of my girls." He said honestly.

"Ve haff not received letter from you in a long time." Andrei urged Caterina "Come and sit vith us, ve vant to know all you haff been doing."

"Andrei, she vants to sit vith her friends." Natascha told her husband. She had noticed Cedric and Shannon's curious glances over at them. "Ve shall talk later."

"No. There's space in the front row, we can chat during the match." Caterina said, so Natascha and Andrei joined the first row, Shannon and Molly had shuffled down a couple of seats to make room. The Krums clearly wanted to sit next to Caterina. "This is Cedric Diggory," She introduced him, relaxing back into the warmth of his arm as it lay along the back of her seat.

"Oh yes I recall in some of your earlier letters, this is the son of the Ministry man yes?" Natascha said. She extended one hand to him "It is very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," he shook her hand.

"And this is Shannon?" Andrei checked with Caterina, who nodded. Shannon looked surprised that Caterina had bothered to write of her to the Krums. "Rory writes much of you both."

Then the British Minister arrived in the Box, Percy jumped up again and bowed so low that his glasses dropped off and shattered on the floor "Sandy who is that?" Molly asked, softly. She had never seen the portly pinstriped clad wizard before and didn't really understand why Percy was acting so servile.

"It's the Minister for Magic," Shannon replied.

"Who's that?" Molly pointed to a tall blonde couple who had just entered with their son.

"It's Draco Malfoy and his parents," Caterina was not really surprised that the tension racheted up quickly at the Malfoys' entrance. "He's not a very nice boy."

"That's putting it mildly." Cedric muttered. He had seen how Draco treated people.

"He's a right little prat Molly," Fred said in a loud whisper. Draco's head whipped around, he had been giving Harry, Hermione and Ron a contemptuous look, and was surprised by this new attack.

"Vot is a prat?" Andrei asked. He had never heard that word before.

"He's just a bit of a idiot that's all. He has some views on blood purity inherited from his parents that are a bit disturbing." Caterina told the Krums.

"They are supporters of..." Andrei started to ask them, but his wife placed one hand on his leg.

"Let's just enjoy the show. I happen to know that ve haff brought Veela this year." She said. "You boys might vant to stick your fingers in your ears vhen they come out though."

"Why?" Cedric was curious.

"They can affect a man in a very mysterious vay. They make you vant to do anything to impress them." Andrei told them. "It is their music, that is the real influence so ve stick our fingers in our ears."

Ludo Bagman came dashing into the box after Andrei had finished speaking, "Everyone ready?" His face was glowing. He looks just like a excited Edam Molly thought laughingly. "Minister are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready when you are Ludo." He replied comfortably.

The next moment Ludo had pointed his own wand straight at his throat and said "Sonorus!" He needed that to speak over the chatter that filled the stadium, the excitement that Caterina felt already was shared by everyone else. "Ladies and gentlemen... welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty second Quidditch World Cup!" The teenagers in the front three rows joined in enthusiastically with the flag waving and the cheers that the other spectators indulged in. Caterina's scarf roared, and the twelve renditions of the Irish anthem only added to the noise. Then the huge blackboard was wiped clean of the advert for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and showed the teams and the current score. "And now without further ado, allow me to introduce... the Bulgarian team mascots!"

"Remember boys fingers in the ears!" Andrei advised, stuffing his fingers into his own ears as a hundred Veela glided onto the pitch. Cedric followed suit. He didn't want to make a fool of himself, and wasn't really interested in impressing any other girls. The Veela danced, faster and faster, their long golden hair spinning out as they did, their pale skin glowing beneath the golden light of the stadium. Abruptly the music stopped, and cautiously Cedric removed his fingers from his ears. "I told you. Look at those boys!" Harry and Ron were standing up at the front of the box, just before Molly and Shannon. Ron looked like he was preparing to dive off, and Harry was resting one leg on top of the wall.

"I'm glad you listened." Caterina told Cedric softly. "You don't need to do anything but be you to impress me."

"I know." He replied automatically but he actually did know. She had never put any pressure on him to change who he was, just helped him be comfortable in his own skin.

"And now." Ludo Bagman's voice echoed into every corner of the stadium. "Kindly put your wands in the air... for the Irish National Team Mascots!" He had barely finished speaking when a enormous green and gold comet came zooming into the stadium, speeding around once, and then split into two smaller comets which sped in opposite directions, each heading for a goalpost.

"What do you reckon the Irish mascots will be then?" Gian asked. His question was directed to all the members of his party.

"I'm kinda hoping for leprechauns myself." George remarked, exchanging a look with his twin. They all gasped as a rainbow suddenly arched across the pitch, connecting the comets once more.

"That is so beautiful." Hermione and Molly said together. The rainbow faded slowly away as the light merged changing into a huge shamrock. The shamrock floated over the stands, gold coins falling like rain from it.

"You got your wish George!" Shannon laughed, as the shamrock soared over the top box, and they all saw it was comprised of thousands of leprechauns, carrying a tiny lamp of either gold or green. All over the stadium, people were crawling underneath their seats desperate to retrieve their gold coins.

Amy stuck the handful of gold coins she had grabbed into her pocket, as the leprechauns seated themselves on the opposite side of the pitch to the Veela and prepared for the match to begin. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome- the Bulgarian National Quidditch team! I give you- Dimitrov!" Caterina and the Krums clapped excitedly as Nicholas zoomed out of the players entrance, he was moving so quickly that he was just a blur. "Ivanova!" Elena came speeding out in his wake. "Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov!" Natascha leapt to her feet as she knew that her son was next "Aaaaaand- Krum!" His parents clapped loudly, cheering their son on as he flew onto the pitch to the excited shouts and cheers of his country men. Caterina cheered just as loudly as the rest, so proud of her friend.

"This is it Moll!" Shannon and Molly climbed to their feet, for a better look at the Irish players.

"Presenting- Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand- Lynch!" Caterina clapped along with the rest of her friends as Henry, Jane, Ken, Clara, Anne, Paul, and Aidan came speeding out onto the pitch, each riding their Firebolts.

"Who are you backing?" Andrei inquired, a little bemused by Caterina's apparent support of both teams.

"I'm not biased in favour of either team. I've got friends on both squads." Caterina replied. She had formed a friendship with the Irish chaser Anne Moran during the Mexican tournament, the two were close in age, and shared a love of rock music. "I'll be happy for whoever wins." The referee, a short and skinny man kicked open the crate containing the balls, and then shot into the air after them, starting the match.

The Irish chasers had control of the Quaffle from the off, "God they're good." Amy gasped, from her seat. Caterina looked over to see her sister was watching the game through her Omnioculars "But what's the Hawkshead Attacking Formation?" George started to explain, and Caterina turned her attention back to the match, in time to see Ken score.

"Yes!" In the front three rows, the Krums were the only ones that kept their seats. The others cheered loudly as they watched Ken take a lap of honour of the pitch. "They're incredible!" Shannon exclaimed. "Okay I'm officially in awe. Is he single?" She asked Caterina, not taking her gaze off Ken's muscular figure.

"No sorry honey. He's had a partner for about six years." Caterina replied. She had met Ken's husband a couple of times during the tournament, he was a kind and honest bloke.

Twenty minutes later it was the Bulgarians turn to cheer, as Elena broke through the ranks of the Irish players, scoring a goal. She pumped the air in victory as the Veela began to dance. "Go Viktor!" Caterina cheered, as she watched her friend plummet through the air side by side with Aidan in search of the Snitch.

"Oh my god son, vot are you doing?" Natascha had her hand over her mouth, eyes wide as she watched Viktor go. She had not seen her son play before, her business not allowing her the leisure time to attend his earlier games.

"It's going to be okay. He's just feinting that's all." Caterina knew Viktor well enough to read her friend, and she had played Quidditch with him enough times over the years to be able to tell what he was doing. She was right, as Viktor cut his dive short just in time, but Aidan got ploughed, hitting the ground with a almighty thump. Molly gasped, she and Ginny both looked horrified.

"He'll be fine." Cedric said softly, reaching out to take Molly's hand. "See?" he pointed to the pitch, where a team of medi wizards were checking Aidan over. Viktor used the time wisely, his dark chocolate brown eyes flickering over every inch of the pitch in a attempt to find the Snitch.

"He'll be back on his feet in no time." Shannon told her sister, "Told you." Aidan got up, and rejoined the match to huge cheers from the Irish supporters. Their teammate's revival fired the Irish side up even more, and they scored a hundred points within fifteen minutes.

"Oh no, ve cannot vin can ve?" Natascha asked her husband, as she checked the scores. "How much is the Snitch vorth?"

"A hundred and fifty points. Vhen Viktor gets the Snitch ve can still vin, if the Irish do not score much more." Andrei groaned, as the referee gave Ireland a penalty "No Zograf vot are you doing? Vhy do you resort to cobbing?"

"What's cobbing?" Molly asked.

"He cheated, he used his elbows to block her," Gian replied.

The pitched battle that occurred between the Veela and the Leprechauns amused Molly and Ginny, but their attention was pulled away from it as Caterina and Natascha both gasped in horror when Paul smacked a Bludger straight at Viktor, breaking his nose. "Vhy you hurt my son?" Natascha yelled. "Look at him!"

"Look at Lynch go!" Cedric shouted at the same time as Harry, his eyes glued to the green clad Seeker as he dived straight down towards the pitch.

"Go on Viktor!" Andrei screamed, he was on his feet, clapping as fiercely as his wife was as his son plunged after Aidan. "Go and vin it my boy!" Aidan crashed into the green grass and was trampled by the Veela.

"The snitch, where's the Snitch?" Charlie bellowed from his seat.

"Vik got it!" Caterina shouted, watching with pride as her friend gently rose into the air, holding the Snitch aloft. She was still in shock that he had had his nose broken, blood pouring onto his already scarlet robes.

"Why did he do that?" George was completely bemused about why Viktor would have ended the game when Ireland were still ahead.

"Who cares? Ireland win!" Shannon and Molly were ecscatic, dancing up and down as they joined in the roar of approval from the Irish supporters.

Andrei and Natascha were oblivious to the excited chatter of the Irish supporters, she had borrowed Caterina's omniculars and was watching as her surly looking son refused the help of the mediwizards surrounding him "Vot are you doing you mad boy?" she muttered "You need treatment. I must go and speak to him."

"No Natascha." Andrei said, stilling his wife as she started to rise. "You vill embarass him if you go down there. His mother telling him to get treatment before all of his teammates? He vill be even more resistant for help." She nodded, seeing that her husband was right. "Caterina vill you go and speak to him?"

"Of course." She said, as the Krums' concern washed over her reinforcing her own worry. "I'll meet you back here." She told Cedric and Shannon, before hurrying out of the Top Box.

Her worry and her desire to congratulate her friend on his performance made her trot down the wide steps at quick pace and she was soon pushing her way through the crowds to Viktor's side. She only bestowed brief greetings on the other Bulgarian players, as she passed them. The Irish squad were celebrating a few feet away, dancing beneath a shower of gold coins and she waved to Anne Moran, the two had become close during their month in Mexico. Her prime concern was to get to Viktor though.

Close to, he looked even more of a mess, blood pouring from his nose and two rapidly blackening eyes, but he still broke into a smile when he saw her push her way through the knot of medi wizards around him. "Vot did you think Rory?"

"You were incredible!" She grinned at her friend, hugging him tightly. He returned the hug warmly, his arms wrapping naturally around her waist. "I've never seen you execute the Feint like that before!"

"I'm glad to see you vere supporting us as vell as the Irish," he said, as her scarf roared at the close body contact. "Vot did you come down here for? I thought you vere in the Top Box."

"I am." She replied, shaking her head at the state of him. "I'm gonna have words with Paul Quigley. He didn't need to break your nose." She was angry at the older man for hurting her friend.

"Vos my fault, I vos distracted," he mumbled. "Can you heal it?" He trusted her a lot more than he trusted the medi wizards, and kept his eyes open as she rested one soft hand on the bridge of his nose, her eyes closed and then he felt a strange tickling sensation as the bone fused once more. The blood flow stopped immediately, and he tentatively touched the bridge of his nose when she had removed her hand.

"All done." She dug into her jean pocket for a tissue "You just need to clean off the dried blood." Viktor wiped quickly at his nose and chin, getting rid of a good deal of the blood.

"How do I look?" he asked her.

"Very handsome." She cupped his cheek with one hand, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips, much to the amusement of the other Bulgarian players.

"Right team, ve are going to go up to the Top Box and meet both Mr Oblansk and Mr Fudge." The Bulgarian team coach Mikhail Raymond announced as he came bustling over. "Caterina you had better go back to your seat." He told her.

"I'm in the Top Box so I'll walk up with you." Caterina said.

Viktor stuck by her side all the way up the stairs "Did my parents vatch the entire match?" he asked.

"Of course they did. I think your mum was a little confused sometimes though." She told him. "Play moved so quickly it would have been very hard for somebody new to the game to follow what was going on."

"Vot do you suggest? Slowing down all players so my mother can see?" He smiled at her. The snitch was beating it's tiny wings against his left palm as it struggled to be free.

"Maybe you could just explain the rules to her before your next game." She smiled back as they climbed higher up the stands.

Applause was coming from both sides of them, and when they reached the fifth row from the top, a teenage girl stood and approached clutching a camera. "Can I have a photo?" she asked Viktor.

"Um..." He still wasn't used to that side of playing internationally. The rest of his squad continued climbing the stairs, and disappeared into the Top Box.

"Go on Vik," Caterina urged him. "I'll take it for you." The teenager handed over her camera and posed next to Viktor. "Smile!" Caterina said, peering through the viewfinder to make sure that the snap was okay. Viktor smiled awkwardly, while his teenage fan beamed blissfully next to him.

"Thanks!" the girl rejoined her friends, who all started chattering as Viktor and Caterina walked away.

When they walked into the box, Viktor's parents both looked very relieved to see that their son's nose was back to normal. Caterina was about to go back to her seat, leaving Viktor to meet and greet the two Ministers but he refused to let go of her hand "Ve go up together no?"

"Yeah he's fine," she told her friend. Viktor shook hands with both ministers, greatly enjoying the enormous roar of support he received from the entire stadium, but his mood soared as his eyes fell upon his beautiful girlfriend. Her bright blue eyes shone with love and pride, and

The Bulgarian players filed out of the box, but Viktor remained, joining his parents in the front row of seats, and receiving their congratulations and praise. "You were vunderful son. It is not your fault that ve lost," Andrei told his son. "Rory's friend vos very impressed, vere you not?" Caterina was chatting with Amy, Fred and George down at the other end of the row. Nobody had stayed in their assigned seats, they were all chatting in little groups about the exciting events of the match.

"Oh definitely. I've never seen anyone pull off the Wronski Feint like that, never mind doing it twice in a match." Cedric told him. "I wish I could pull it off."

"It is easy, it just takes determination and a fearless spirit. You cannot fear hurting yourself, or you vill lose nerve." Viktor said. "Rory vould be able to do it I vould imagine. She almost managed it vhen ve vere both living in Sofia."

"You used to play with Rory, before she became good?" Molly asked.

"Oh she vos alvays good. She just vosn't as good as me." Viktor said comfortably. He gazed down the row to Caterina, as the Irish team filed into the Box. Aidan was supported by Anne and Henry as he had clearly been dazed by the second crash. The huge golden cup was lifted high into the air by Ken and Paul, causing the green clad supporters to erupt into ear splitting cheers. It wasn't until the Irish team had left to do another loop of the pitch that the Krums, the DiVitas and the Weasleys left the Top Box.

Fred and George were clutching the handfuls of gold that they had won from Ludo Bagman. "Don't tell your mother that you've been gambling." Mr Weasley said imploringly as they all walked slowly down the steps.

"Of course not. We've lots planned for this money, we don't want it confiscated," Fred replied. Mr Weasley opened his mouth to ask what the big plans were, but then shut it again, shaking his head. He caught up with Amos and Gian who were chatting with a couple of Irish supporters.

"Okay so there's a party at my tent, later." Shannon told the other teenagers as soon as the parents were out of earshot. "Are you gonna come?" Everyone except Percy agreed to meet up at the gate of the second field, a hour later.


	8. Born under a bad sign

Born under a bad sign

The party in Shannon's tent was in full swing when Catalina arrived, nearly a hour after everyone else. The flap was propped open and she heard _We are the champions_ blasting out over the darkened field, mingling with the loud music coming from all the surrounding tents. She was about to duck inside when she heard her name being called from out of the darkness, she spun around on her heel to face Viktor. The tall Bulgarian was standing a few feet away, holding a bottle of beer in one hand. "Thank goodness you are here. I thought I vos going to have to face your friends on my own."

"They're not that scary." She laughed.

"I know but there are so many of them." Viktor smiled at her. "It's very intimidating for a boy you know." He swigged a little of his beer. "Where is Cedric?" He had expected the two of them to arrive together as he knew that their tents were right next door to each other.

"He's inside already. I'm sorry I'm so late, I got delayed chatting to Mr Reyes." She responded, taking his beer from him, and taking a long swallow from it.

"Vhen did you start drinking beer?" Viktor's dark eyes swept her face, concern brimming from him as she handed the bottle back. "I thought you did not like taste."

"I don't normally but some beers are okay." She admitted. "What were you doing?" she asked, curious about why her friend had been standing outside in the rapidly cooling night air, rather than chatting to people inside the warm tent.

"I vos votching the fireworks," he said "The Irish must be celebrating hard." The next field was alight with unusual lights, as leprechauns zoomed all over, carrying their tiny lanterns, and some of the Irish supporters let off sparks from their wands.

"It's pretty," She said softly, as a shower of orange, green and white stars were shot into the sky by a particularly zealous Irish fan.

"Yes." Viktor replied, but his gaze wasn't on the stars but on her face.

She laughed, flushing a light scarlet, and took hold of his hand "Come on." The two ducked underneath the flap, entering the tent and were greeted by multiple voices.

"You're here!" Shannon pulled back from Patrick's kiss, the two were sitting on the couch next to a very uncomfortable looking Cedric. "Thank god!" He bounded off the black leather like it was electrified, crossing the room to her.

"I'm sorry Ced." She said softly, "Mr Reyes needed to go over some paper work he wants me to bring to our meeting in Hogsmeade."

"Hey Viktor." Cedric said before turning back to Catalina. "Promise me that you'll never leave me alone with them again. She's been trying to make us do shots."

"I thought he vos dating a blonde girl no?" Viktor asked, curiously.

"Yeah he was." Catalina was a little saddened that her friend had once again made a play for a bloke in a relationship. She didn't understand Shannon's indiscriminate dating techique. She went for any man who was handsome, clever and funny, regardless of whether they were attached to someone or not.

Shannon disentangled herself from Patrick's embrace and came over to hug Catalina. "Finally you're here! Now the party can really get going!" she exclaimed "Shots all round!" the pronouncement was met with cheers from their fellow partiers but a soft groan from Viktor.

Shannon headed over to the kitchen area, for the bottle as Catalina changed the music, sticking on I'll stand by you. "Dance with me?" she asked. Cedric took her into his arms, joining the small knot of dancers in the left hand corner of the tent.

"Thank you," he whispered into her ear as they swayed together. His hand rested against the small of her back underneath her shirt, and the sensation of his warm palm pressing on her naked skin sent shivers coursing through them both.

"What for?" She asked, lifting her head from his shoulder so that she looked him in the eyes.

"Saving me from doing shots vith your crazy friend Shannon," he replied smiling.

"You're welcome," she smiled back, before their lips touched briefly in a gentle kiss. Viktor pulled her tighter against him as Patrick went past, he was clearly more than a little bit drunk, he could barely walk in a straight line.

"Rory?" He asked against her hair.

"Hmm?" she said absently.

"I was thinking..." he was cut off by the ringing of her phone.

"Hold that thought." She smiled as she saw Amos's number flashing up "Hello Amos."

"Catalina?" Amos asked, a bit uncertain that this could possibly work. "This is Amos. Your father and I are going to help the Ministry with a situation that's just arisen in the next field, so I might not be there when you come back to the tents. Don't worry, and just enjoy your party." The phone went dead before Caterina had the chance to ask what situation.

"What's going on? Why did my dad phone you?" Cedric was concerned as Catalina closed her phone with a click.

"Something's going on in the next field." She ducked back under the tent flap, closely followed by both Viktor and Cedric. Scanning the next field, she saw strange flashes of light, that were in motion along the top of the field. "Your dad and my dad are going to help the ministry out."

"Vot is happening there?" Viktor wondered. "Is not fireworks, is too low to the ground."

"Let's go and find out." Caterina strode away before either of the boys could stop her, lighting her wand.

"She's crazy. It's freezing." Cedric said, "I'll grab the coats. Try to stall her would you?" Viktor nodded, and so the other boy disappeared back into Shannon's tent.

"Rory vait!" Viktor called, running to catch up with Catalina's quick stride over the rutted ground. "You shouldn't go alone." He lit his own wand and took her hand with his free one.

"Thanks for coming with me Vik. I know it's probably stupid to go rushing off to help fully qualified wizards but I..."

"Is your father, I understand." He assured her, as they left Mr Payne's field via the top gate. "I vould do same thing if it vos my father. I know it is not rational but still..."

Catalina was reassured by this reminder of how similar their characters were, and they strode along in a comfortable silence for several moments. "Rory! Viktor! Wait!" Cedric's voice carried on the wind, and then they heard his running footsteps, and came to a standstill by Mr Robert's top gate. Cedric was wearing his own thick jacket, carrying Caterina's shearling coat in one hand and his own lit wand in the other. "You left your coat." He said a little sheepishly.

"Thanks." She quickly put it on, only now realising how cold she had been. There were a few fires burning still in the Roberts' field, and the silhouettes of fleeing witches and wizards were thrown into relief by the soft orange lights. They were all running in the same direction, towards the thick woods.

"What are they running from?" Cedric wondered.

"It is that." Viktor's voice was filled with disgust as he pointed to a large knot of wizards who were marching across the field at a quick pace, and heading in their direction. A blast of bright green light burst from some of their wands, and the three of them saw that the Roberts' family were being manipulated and puppeteered in mid air by the drunken group. "Is sick." He said simply as Mrs Roberts was turned upside down, her nightdress falling down and exposing her knickers, the masked wizards all laughed uproaringly at the sight of the poor woman's attempts to maintain her modesty.

"We have to help them," Catalina actually took a few steps towards the group, as the little boy was spun around faster and faster, sixty feet in the air. The Roberts' family's fear, panic and confusion over why this was happening to them, gushed into her, and she felt physically sick.

"The ministry wizards will sort it, come on. We've got to get out of here." Cedric and Viktor led a protesting Catalina into the nearest clump of trees. Viktor's grasp on her hand was too tight for her to break away. The narrow path through the trees was already crowded by the time they entered the woods. Groups of frightened and confused people, most wearing their pyjamas huddled together, listening to the drunken laughter and loud bangs coming from the campsite.

Catalina kept hold of Viktor's hand as they walked slowly through the wood, linking up with Cedric on the other side. She didn't want to lose sight of either of them. They made their way slowly deeper into the thick overgrown trees, "There's a clearing just on the other side," she said, as she recognised the gnarled oak tree to their left.

"Okay." Cedric led the way, and was slightly surprised to see Harry, Hermione and Ron all there. Ron was playing with his miniature Krum figure, and looked stunned to see the real thing appear holding hands with one of his brother's friends.

"Are you all okay?" Catalina was concerned as the waves of confusion spilled out of the three younger children.

"We're fine." Hermione's voice was a little shaky as she said "The poor Muggles, have they got them down yet?"

"No not yet, but they will," Cedric assured her, he was in no doubt that the Ministry would find a way to stop the riot.

"Vot vos that?" Viktor's head whipped around as they all heard the sound of somebody staggering towards the clearing.

"Hello?" Catalina took a few tentative steps towards the large holly bush where the sounds seemed to be coming from. "Who is there?" She raised her lit wand, straining to see somebody there. She knew that there was somebody as she could hear their thoughts _Must get the Dark Mark up. Those idiots, cavorting in masks, they have no idea of the Dark Lord's true purpose._

"There's nobody there Rory," Viktor came to stand at her shoulder, peering into the murky blackness just beyond the clearing. "Is you hearing their thoughts again?" she nodded. She had told Viktor the truth of who she was, and what she was able to do, during the summer they had together in his family's place in Burgas, and he had accepted it. It didn't make any difference to him, she was still the most remarkable woman he knew.

Harry, Hermione and Ron looked at each other uneasily _She can read minds but that's impossible. Nobody can see inside someone's else head._ Hermione scoffed. _Is she putting it on, to impress Krum?_

_Is she like Voldemort, isn't he supposed to be able to do that?_ Ron was uneasy, backing unconsciously away from her. Then the silence of the clearing was broken apart as the unseen person shouted "MORSMORDRE!" Something huge, green and glittering shot up out of the darkness that Viktor and Catalina's gazes were trying to penetrate. It flew up over the thick green leaves, and hovered there against the starless sky.

"No. It can't be." Cedric's face blanched as he recognised the huge skull shape for what it was. "We've got to get out of here." Catalina and Viktor were already in motion, they had recognised it at the same time, "Come on!" he urged the other kids as people's screams echoed from various unseen points in the wood. Catalina and Hermione pulled Harry with them, as the boy had turned back towards the bush searching for the mysterious caster.

"What's going on?" he asked, confusion settling on his face.

"It's Voldemort's mark," Catalina hurried her steps, forcing the other two to pick up their pace as well, Ron picked up his miniature Krum figure as they headed for the safety of the next clump of trees but then the pop of appratition filled the clearing. She twirled to see that twenty figures, had appeared and all had their wands pointing directly at the six of them "Get down!" She grabbed hold of both Harry and Hermione's shoulders, pulling them down with her as she flattened herself against the damp leaves littering the ground.

The other three threw themselves flat, just in time as twenty voices cried in unison "Stupefy!" the bright flashes of light coming from their wands criss crossed the small clearing, bouncing off various tree trunks and rebounding into the darkness.

"Stop!" Her father's husky voice cut through the noise "That's my daughter!" She rolled over, as the wind stopped blowing her hair into her eyes. Gian strode forward, helping her to get to her feet. _I thought Amos told you to stay at Sandy's party, not drag his son and your poor boyfriend over here because of your neverending curiosity._

I thought you might have been in trouble. I was hardly likely to stay drinking with my friends when you and Amos could have been hurt, he didn't say what the situation was, or how dangerous it could have been. Catalina replied.

_Well since you were here, did you hear anything?_ he asked _Anything that might tell us who conjured it?_

_It was a human male, he was invisible, and he seemed to think that he was doing it on Voldemort's orders. He was trying to scare the other Death Eaters and thought something about Voldemort's true plans being known to only him._ She told her father.

"Get out of the way Gian!" a cold voice said, breaking into the silent conversation between father and daughter. Catalina looked around to see that the Ministry wizards were all closing the circle around them, and that her five friends were all standing now. "Which one of you is responsible?" he demanded, pointing at each of the teenagers in turn.

"Don't be daft Barty. My daughter wouldn't conjure Voldemort's mark even if she knew how to, and neither would any of her friends," Gian said. "Unless you're suggesting that members of your own Ministry teach their children to create the Dark Mark?" he gestured to Cedric and Ron, both of whom were covered in mud. Ron's elbow was cut from landing funny when he dived out of the way of the stunners.

Amos pushed his way to the forefront, he had not realised that his son was one of the six, "Are you all right son?" he asked anxiously. Cedric nodded, sheepishly. "Who was it Rory?"

"It was somebody over there, and they were hiding in the shadows." She pointed to the large holly bush on the other side of the clearing. The other Ministry staff turned, raising their wands and pointing them in the direction that Caterina had gestured.

"Right well then our stunners went through those trees so there's a good chance that we got them." Amos said. "Stay here Ced, Rory. I mean it this time." He squared his shoulders and strode across the clearing, to the small clump of ash trees just behind the bush.

"He'll be okay." Catalina took Cedric's hand as she felt his unease at watching his father disappear alone into the darkness, in search of a Death Eater.

"We've got somebody!" Amos's voice drifted back, a few seconds later "They're unconscious! But...blimey!"

"Who is it?" Mr Weasley asked, he had made sure that his son was uninjured and now turned to watch as Amos emerged from the darkness, cradling a tiny limp figure in his arms.

"Winky?" Hermione's voice was filled with confusion. _But it was a human voice that conjured it, why was she there? She was going to hide wasn't she?_

Gently Amos placed the motionless elf at Mr Crouch's feet, and the older man seemed to be completely transfixed, his face blanching a bone white, and his eyes widening as he stared at Winky. _But if she's here... where is he? He... Must find him_ "This...cannot...be..." He moved quickly around Amos, heading off for the place that Amos had found his elf.

"There's nobody else there Mr Crouch." Amos called after the senior member of the Ministry. Mr Crouch didn't listen, searching through the bushes, and rustling leaves. "I can't blame him for double checking though, he won't want to believe that his house elf is capable of such things."

"She isn't. It wasn't Winky." Catalina said. "She wouldn't know how, and wouldn't be carrying a wand anyway."

"She was." Amos said softly, "I found her holding this." He raised a wand, showing the other people in the clearing.

Then Ludo apparated into the clearing, nearly stepping on Winky's tiny form. "Votch out!" Viktor warned him.

"What is going on? Why have you stunned Winky?" Ludo was completely bemused _What a night! First the Irish win, the idiot Bulgarian captures the Snitch, and then the goblins... and now this!_ "Did you capture the person responsible? Barty!"

Mr Crouch slowly made his way back over, empty handed. He looked dreadful, pasty white and his hands twitching with nerves and anxiety. "It seems that Winky has some explaining to do." Amos said, "Would you mind if I ask her some questions?" Mr Crouch didn't respond, he was lost in his thoughts, that cascaded with such speed that it was impossible for Catalina to understand even a eighth of them. So Amos awakened the stunned elf.

Winky sat up very slowly, her eyes taking in Amos's scuffed boots first, and then leaning her head back to take the rest of him in, and finally glancing up at the enormous emerald skull that still illuminated this section of the wood. She was terrified and began to sob, her tiny frame shaking uncontrollably. "Can I talk to her?" Cedric asked his father. Amos nodded agreeing because he felt it would be good practice for his son, and so Cedric dropped to his knees to be on eye level with her. "Winky?" He said gently "I'm Cedric. I'm a friend of Harry Potter's. We were in the Top Box together, remember?" she nodded, shakily.

"You was sitting with the pretty mind reader." Winky said. She had sensed Catalina's ability, the moment that she saw her.

"Yes that's right, I can hear people's thoughts." Catalina approached slowly, and knelt down next to Cedric. "I heard a human male talking about conjuring the Mark minutes before he did so, we just need to know if you saw them? They could only have been feet away from you, and they used the wand that Mr Diggory's holding." Amos held it up so that Winky would be able to see it properly, and it was briefly caught by the bright green light emanating from the crystalline skull.

"I is seeing no one miss..." her tiny fingers were twisting the edge of her teatowel quickly, and causing it to fray. "I just is picking wand up."

"All right... thankyou for telling the truth." Caterina said softly, she dug into her coat finding another packet of paper tissues. "Here you are, to wipe your nose." Tears had been streaming down Winky's tiny face throughout the brief interview.


	9. Working hard for the money

Working hard for the money

Bella nearly spat out her coffee, as she scanned the front page of her Daily Prophet. It was a huge photo of a giant skull floating high over the treetops, and the headline terrified her as she knew that Gian, Amy and Catalina had all intended to go to the World Cup. She pressed the buzzer on her intercom, "Yes Miss Patterson?" Martina asked.

"I need you to get Gian DiVita on the phone for me and ask Calypso to come to my office," She released the button without waiting for a response and went back to reading the paper. It was a article written by Rita Skeeter which automatically threw the truth of the piece into question, but there was too much at stake for Bella to dismiss it out of hand.

Five minutes later Calypso, a tall woman of Japanese and American descent entered Bella's office. "You wanted to see me?" She seated herself in the empty seat at the desk with her usual effortless grace.

"Yes. I want to know if this is true or just one of Rita's usual fabricated pieces." She passed the paper over, so that Calypso could see it. The other woman had been working undercover at the Daily Prophet for the last couple of months, acting as the ILA's liaison on the paper.

"It is true. Some Death Eaters got drunk at the Cup, and decided to show off by levitating some Muggles." Calypso told her boss, "Nobody was seriously hurt, and the part about dead bodies is a complete fabrication. Apparently the Mark was conjured by somebody using a invisibility cloak or maybe somebody with the power to turn invisible, as the only person that was found in the vicinity was a house elf named Winky."

_Winky__was__there?__But__that's__the__elf__that__Gian's__sent__to__Jersey__House_. Bella realised. Just then the phone rang and she grabbed it "Bella Patterson's office,"

"Hello Bella Patterson's office, this is Gian DiVita speaking." Gian said lightly. "I take it you've seen the Prophet?"

"Yeah, it's in front of me right now. Calypso informs me that Winky was the one discovered beneath the Mark." Bella said, glancing through the article once again. "I thought elves were unable to carry a wand, isn't that one of the Ministry's laws?"

"Yes, it is. We don't believe that she was the one responsible." He told her.

"We? Amy was there too, when this happened?" Bella inquired, not really surprised that her friend had ended up in that spot. Amy had always been nosy, and had a knack for finding trouble like nobody else Bella knew, although Catalina was starting to rival her sister in that department.

"Rory, Cedric, Viktor, Harry Potter and a couple of Harry's friends were all there just before the Mark shot into the air. Rory heard a male voice in the shadows, claiming that he alone knew of Voldemort's plans, and I don't think those plans are exactly finished yet." He told her. "We've just arrived back at Jersey House, come home for lunch and we will discuss it then."

"Okay. I'll see you at half twelve." Bella agreed, before hanging up. "Calypso, see if you can find out who Rita's source was, for this article. I need as much information as you can gather." Calypso nodded, before shutting the door behind her with a soft click. Bella resumed her duties, faxing a signed confirmation of transfer to the Luxembourg head office, authorising the resignation of the deputy head in Greece and checking in on the team stationed in Little Hangleton. They had nothing new to report and so Bella left for her lunch, promptly at twelve.

When she passed Martina's desk, her secretary was busy at her computer, dealing with the new emails. "I'm going home for lunch, I will be reachable on my mobile as usual."

"Of course Miss Patterson." Martina said softly, watching as Bella walked away with quick light footsteps. The tiny woman made her way downstairs, and out into the street before hopping into one of the Town cars, she had intended to take the bus but then saw little necessity in walking the extra three hundred metres to the nearest bus stop, in the light drizzle to wait twenty minutes for a bus, when there was already a car before her.

The car moved quickly and smoothly through the traffic, making it back to Jersey House's imposing brown brick facade in five minutes. Bella didn't even have to open the front door, as the DiVita's house elf Gabby had pulled it open before she had even stepped out of the car. "Thank you Gray." Grayston Prestwick was one of the team of drivers that worked for the London offices.

"You're welcome." Gray turned the car easily on the gravelled driveway, as Bella went inside Jersey House.

Gabby took Bella's coat from her, "Miss Rory and Master Cedric is in the family room Miss Bella." The tiny elf was redheaded with lamp like honey coloured eyes, and had worked for the family since Amy was a toddler. "But Master Gian says sorry. He is gone out, called away on urgent business."

"Thank you Gabby. Where is Winky?" Winky had been in floods of tears ever since Gian had sent her to Jersey House the night before.

"She is in kitchen, she is being very sad all day." Gabby shook her head sadly. "Do you wants to see her?"

"Yes I will come and see her after I talk to Rory." Bella decided. She paused by the open door of the family room and could see Cedric and Catalina were curled up on the ancient brown sofa, watching Casablanca.

"Now why are they marching again?" Cedric asked, taking a big handful of the popcorn sitting in a huge bowl on the glass topped table before them.

"It's World War Two. They're Nazis." Cedric looked blankly back at her. She sighed, pausing the movie, and turning to face her boyfriend. "Back in the 30's and 40's, a Muggle called Adolf Hitler took control in Germany. He was the head of the Nazi party, and they believed in blood purity. Anyone who didn't fit their idea of perfect humanity was rounded up, and either put in concentration camps or killed. Bogart and Bergman are trying to escape the Nazi invasion of Paris,"

"So this Hitler bloke was kinda like You know who?" He wondered, munching on another handful of popcorn.

"He was probably worse actually. He had ambitions to take over all of Europe, Voldemort's only tried taking over Britain." Bella remarked, as she entered the room.

"Hey Bella." Catalina smiled, at the older woman. She hadn't heard Bella's thoughts as she had been concentrating so hard on Cedric.

Bella seated herself in one of the ultra comfortable armchairs, "Have you never seen this before?" She was genuinely slightly surprised that the younger girl had not shown Cedric Casablanca before as she knew that it was one of Catalina's all time favourite movies.

Cedric opened his mouth to respond but Gian interrupted him "Sorry I'm late Bells. Come on." He had apparated inside the foyer, and looked frazzled, carrying a thick sheaf of papers in one hand. Bella got up, tipping some of her uneaten popcorn back into the bowl and followed him into his library towards the front of the house.

"Where have you been?" She asked, as soon as they had closed the door behind them. The huge room had always slightly awed Bella, two walls were lined with floor to ceiling bookcases, each one filled with leather bound books that Gian had picked up during his life, the third wall contained photographs and sketches of the many sights he had been to, and the fourth was a huge sheet of glass, overlooking the neatly trimmed garden. She had never quite ascertained actually how old he was, as his regenerative abilities made it impossible to tell at a glance and she didn't want to ask. She did know that he was a lot older than the forty year old he appeared to be.

"I had a urgent call from a old friend of mine in Hamburg, and took a Portkey to help him out." He said quickly, "Anyway that's not important, but this is." He unrolled one of the pieces of paper he was clutching, on his antique rollaway desk. Stepping closer she saw it was a sketch of a slightly ratty looking man, with balding straw coloured hair.

"Is that Pettigrew?" Gian nodded "Who drew this?" Bella demanded.

"Another old friend of mine remembered seeing him, she runs a inn in Albania." Gian replied. "According to her, she saw Pettigrew chatting to a woman in her inn, and the two left together."

"Bertha Jorkins was last seen in Albania, do you think that the woman Pettigrew met was her?" Bella asked, she hadn't been in charge for very long, and was still finding her feet.

"I do. I just don't know what he could want with her." Gian sighed. "She worked in the Ministry, but that can't have been the only reason Voldemort would have needed her. He has Lucius Malfoy to manipulate Ministry policy for him already."

Bella's phone beeped, and she glanced down at it to see that she had received a message from Martina. "I've got to get back to the office. Martina says that my two o'clock meeting with Anthony Watkins has been pushed forward and is due to start in twenty minutes."

"All right well if you hear anything about Pettigrew's whereabouts, or there's any other development in Little Hangleton then..." Gian said.

"I'll call you straight away." Bella promised, before she disapparated still holding onto the sketch. Sighing Gian returned to the family room, sinking into one of the chairs.

"Has Bells gone?" Catalina asked, tearing her gaze away from Bogart and Bergman's scene in the cafe after hours.

"Yeah she had to get back to work, she has a meeting with Anthony." Her father replied. His phone vibrated against his hip as he spoke, and he checked it to see a message from Lucy Scott. "I have to get back to work. I'll grab some clothes and see you at Hogwarts when it all kicks off." The older man levered himself out of his armchair.

"Okay dad." Catalina hugged her father, just before he hurried upstairs to throw some stuff into a bag.

"What did he mean?" Cedric was a bit confused, he still didn't fully understand what Gian did for a living. "When what kicks off?"

Catalina settled herself back onto the couch, grabbing the thick red throw blanket off the back and pulling around them both before she replied "They're reinstating the Triwizard tournament this year. Viktor told me at the match. His headmaster's really keen for him to enter." She rested her head on Cedric's shoulder, as she spoke. "The prestige of having a National Quidditch star at his school is great but Karkaroff would like to have the school name go down in history as having produced a Triwizard Champion."

"Are you going to enter?" Cedric asked, rubbing her knee beneath the blanket. "I don't imagine you really need the cash." He had only really started to realise exactly how wealthy his long time friend was at the match, when she was talking about trust funds, and Shannon had chatted about spare planes.

"I think I probably will put my name in. It doesn't hurt anything, and it'll be interesting taking part." She said. "I'd like to see how I cope in such a situation, having to think on my feet. It'll be a good apprenticeship as I'm thinking about joining the ILA when we finish school. Will you enter?" Catalina's gaze was on her boyfriend's face rather than the movie.

"I don't know." He replied honestly. "I'd like the money, and the prestige for Hufflepuff. I mean everyone sees us as being the least exciting and interesting house in Hogwarts. It would be nice to prove them wrong." He confessed. "I'm tired of everyone asking me how on earth I ended up attracting a girl like you, as though it's impossible that a Ravenclaw could be attracted to somebody from Hufflepuff."

"You don't have to prove anything to the other houses." Catalina replied softly. "You know that our house has the best attitude. You're all about inclusion, not exclusion and you listen to everyone's point of view." She paused before saying, "We'll need that mindset more than ever if Voldemort does come back."

"Is that what you saw in that bloke's head at the Cup?" Cedric was concerned, as Catalina had been unable to properly say before. They had gone back to his parents' place, grabbed their school supplies and come with Gian to London.

"Yeah. He's planning to bring Voldemort back to full strength but I couldn't see where or how. I just know that Pettigrew is involved with the plans too." Catalina sighed heavily, sinking back into Cedric's warm arms. "I didn't like being inside his head, even just for those few seconds. It's so full of hate...and anger..." She shivered.

"Can't you ever shut the telepathy off?" He rubbed her back trying to warm her up. They had never really had a discussion about Catalina's unusual abilities, as they were just part of her. She had been able to do it for as long as he'd known her.

"No. It can go down to a gentle hum but it never really shuts off, while I'm awake." She confessed. "I try my best not to listen to your thoughts though, I don't like listening to friends or family."

"Let's see if we can shut your brain up for a little while." He smiled, cupping her cheek with one hand as he leaned in to kiss her.

"Nope." She smirked at him when she pulled back, several long moments later. "Still busy as ever."

"I love a challenge Miss DiVita," He pulled her closer again, and their lips met in another long lazy kiss.

A scuffling noise behind them, caused them to break apart, and they turned as one to see Winky was standing there, she had been fetching a book. She ran away, her ears flapping as soon as she realised that she had been spotted. "Winky wait!" Catalina disentangled herself from Cedric's arms and went after the house elf.

"I is sorry Miss Rory but Gabby asks me to get a book for her." Winky said, her eyes glued to the white tile of the foyer floor, "I were not meaning to interrupt."

"I know you weren't. It's okay." Catalina assured her. "I just wanted to know how you were settling in."

"I is settling in?" Winky asked, confusion flitting across her tiny features.

"Has Gabby found you somewhere to sleep?" Catalina inquired. The elf nodded, her ears flapping with the motion. "I have something that I want to tell you."

"What does Miss wants to say?" Winky asked, she was still carrying one of Catalina's tissues, sticking out of the pocket of her skirt. Catalina had found some old dolls clothes, taking the light blue skirt and stiff collared shirt off a Edwardian china doll that had been given to her by a distant aunt, and giving them to Winky.

"I have some more clothes for you." Catalina replied. "That is assuming that you want to stay here with us. If not we can find you a position within the family."

"Winky wants to stay with you Miss." Winky said. "You was nice to Winky when the nasty thing was in the sky. And Master Gian told Winky that you is her mistress now."

"All right well, um would you go and tell Gabby that I might be expecting some friends for dinner?" Winky nodded, and then hurried back into the kitchen without looking back.

Life at Jersey House settled into a steady rhythm over the next week. Cedric and Catalina rose at the same time as Bella, and they were treated to a big breakfast by Winky and Gabby. Winky had settled into her new life, but she was still missing Mr Crouch a good deal, as Catalina realised fully the Sunday night before her return to Hogwarts. She had gone into the kitchen to ask Gabby if she minded if Jonathan stayed at the house in Catalina's absence, and heard somebody sobbing. "Gabby?" slowly she approached the cupboard beneath the sink, which seemed to be the origin of the sobs.

When she opened the cupboard door, she was greeted by the sight of Winky sobbing her heart out, her face buried in her skirt. "Oh Winky what's wrong?" she dropped to her knees before the elf, reaching out tentatively to her. Her instinct was always to try to comfort, but she wasn't sure if Winky would want her to touch her shoulder. "I thought you had started to like it here."

"Winky does. Winky is really liking serving Miss Rory and Miss Bella, but I is still missing Mr Crouch." Winky choked out between sobs. "And now Gabby said that Miss Rory is leaving too."

"I'm returning to Hogwarts." She confirmed. "That was why I came in here actually. I wanted to talk to you. Do you think you can come out of the cupboard?" She held out one hand to Winky, which she took, and climbed slowly from the cupboard.

"What is Miss wanting to say?" Winky asked, wiping her eyes with Catalina's tissue. She had been dragging the same packet around with her all week.

"I wanted to give you a choice. You can stay here with Miss Bella, as this is your home now as long as you want to remain, or you can come with me to Hogwarts?" Catalina said. "There are lots of house elves there in the kitchens, and you could make some friends."

"You is not going away forever?" Winky asked, tilting her head to better see the tall blonde. Catalina shook her head, "I is glad of that miss. I is your elf, not Miss Bella's. I is going to stay here make sure everything is nice when you is coming back."

"All right well then I shall see you in the morning." Winky nodded, and Catalina left the kitchen, heading back upstairs to pack her school supplies.

Cedric was already in her room, packing his own trunk. "Does she mind?" he asked, not looking up from the jumpers he was folding neatly.

"Oh...um I didn't see Gabby. Winky was there, and she's decided that she does want to stay." Catalina announced, as she unwrapped some of the parcels that Jasmine had picked up for her in Diagon Alley. "She is missing Mr Crouch though."

"Why?" Cedric tossed some underwear and socks into his trunk before turning to face her, slightly surprised by her news.

"He was her master for most of her life, and we don't know how he treated her before the Mark appeared." Catalina replied simply. She smiled as she unwrapped a long peach ruched silk halter dress. "This must be for the ball." She held it up against herself, glancing at her reflection in the mirror hanging over her mantelpiece. The material was long and flowing, and showed off her figure well.

"What ball?" Cedric wondered, stopping his packing to admire his girlfriend's pretty dress.

"There's always a ball as part of the Tournament, dad told me." Catalina replied, sighing as she carefully folded her dress, intending to place it at the very top of her things.


	10. Here comes the rain again

Here comes the rain again

Rain splattered against Catalina's window the next morning, and she snuggled deeper into her bedding, unwilling to get up as the soft thump of the droplets got louder. She was toasty and warm, glad of her younger sister's extra body heat. The two had long since shared a bed, and after the events of the World Cup, had resumed their childhood practice. Dianna had been scared, after seeing the Dark Mark, knowing that Voldemort's followers were growing in confidence if they dared to produce it after all this time.

A low hoot prompted her to pull her head from under the duvet and she saw a tiny owl hovering on the other side of the thick glass. She opened the window wide, curious about who would be sending letters in such horrible weather. She didn't think that any of Dianna's school friends would have anything to tell her that couldn't wait until they caught the Hogwarts Express. It was only nine, and she remembered that Dianna caught the train promptly at ten.

The owl flew inside, dropped it's letter and then performed a neat about face, it's wet wings splattering Catalina's face and flew back out into the wet morning. She had barely opened the envelope, careful as she didn't want to rip the damp paper inside, when she heard her father shouting "Aura!" he didn't use their usual method of communicating, because there were humans staying in the house. He had had to get used to Catalina's atypical need to form strong bonds with her charges. Children of the balance usually followed their ingrained functions and obeyed the Council's edicts and ancient laws. "You've got a phone call!"

She picked up on Alexander's displeasure, the waves of emotion breaking through his usual iron clad walls of protection and enveloping her. She knew who it was likely to be, even before she picked up her bedroom extension. "I've got it dad."

"Okay," Alexander sighed, and she waited until she had heard the click of the receiver being replaced before she spoke.

"Hello,"

"Hey Roo," Dean's deep rumble came as a surprise, as he usually let his dad be the one who got in touch. "Sammy says you had a pretty great time in Mexico."

"Yeah, yeah I did." She heard John in the background, dispensing his orders, "Where are you?"

"Dean hang up. You can chat to Kate later," the phone went dead within seconds. She wasn't worried though, as she could feel Dean's emotions, and there wasn't a hint of pain, or fear dancing through the teenager, rather pride at the way that Sam was handling his sawn off, pride that almost verged on the paternal.

She liked that Dean was so protective of his younger brother, understanding that, because she felt the exact same thing when it came to Dianna. The younger girl groaned as she rolled over in the bed, only now waking up, once Catalina's warmth had started to seep from the sheets. "What's going on?" Dianna's large coffee coloured eyes, so unlike Catalina's bright blue ones, finally opened.

"You've had a letter, and we'd better get going." Catalina slipped into a pair of jeans, while she gestured to the letter, now sitting on the bedside table.

"Are you sure that we can really stop it?" Dianna's nerves were evident in her usually calm voice. Catalina paused in the middle of dressing, slipping her shirt on before crossing over to take her sister's hands.

"Sweetie I trust you. If you say that he's in danger then he is and we're going to stop it." Catalina's eyes betrayed not a hint of doubt, as she studied her sister's face, gentle fingers pushing back a lock of Dianna's mousy hair. "We can do anything, as long as we're doing it together."

"Thanks." Dianna was instantly reassured by her empathetic sister's touch. She had always relied on Catalina's support, since their days in the Council's training camps, and their familial bond dated from there. Dianna knew that no matter what else, she would have Catalina watching her back.

Alexander entered the room without knocking "We've got to go girls," he already had his coat on. "The train's supposed to leave dead on eleven, and we have some stops to make first."


End file.
